Crisis on Infinite, Whoa Deja Vu
by HalloweenJack
Summary: The Scoobies start to encounter beings from other universes and the conflict that brings them together.
1. The Day We, Well freak out really

Well people, here's something I found as I was going through all my disks the other day. It's a story I started writing way back in the day, inspired by the Tangled Web series right here at It was one of the first things I had ever written on at length. In fact I have over a hundred pages I'm going to begin posting here and I fully intend to finish it as I edit and post these chapters. It was a fun process to write and in retrospect, a fun read when I was sifting through my disks. Sort of a precursor to my other stories.

 And don't worry if you enjoyed my other stories. This shouldn't take any precedence over any of them as the chapters in this one will generally be a lot shorter than my standard chapters (say five or pages for these, when I usually hit fifteen).

     Anywho, just so we're clear on details this takes place during Buffy season 6/Angel season 3. Buffy and Spike are having their fling, Willow and Tara have split, Cordy has become part demon, and Holtz hasn't stolen Connor just yet. And without further ado….

    The young blonde woman walked through the graveyard after what she had to admit had been a great night. She had been away with her boyfriend all night having a great deal of fun (which usually translated into S-E-X). Well actually he was more like a friend with benefits. Well actually he was like a benefit when he wasn't being a pain in the ass.       At any rate, she was walking through the graveyard, while it was still dark and not very safe for a young lady to be walking.

    This of course meant she was being followed by an evil creature. Said creature with a hunger; a hunger for human blood. It crept closer with her ever oblivious of its approach. Its claws were outstretched and its fangs bared ready to tear into her. She was a breath away. He moved to strike and was instantly attacked from behind. A wooden shaft was put through his un-beating heart. Within seconds he was nothing but dust. Behind him stood a tall man clad in black with slicked back blonde hair. The young blonde woman turned and looked at him.

    "Knew he was there." she smirked

    He looked at her and rolled his eyes.

    "I'm well aware of THAT. Thing is I've been itchin' to do that. Fella always pissed me off. Works out the frustration when you kill 'em. You know that." the man said with a deep English accent.

    "Then I bet you wanted to work off a little more frustration with me huh, Spike?" she practically hissed.

    "While the thought of plowing into you like a stake in dust boy's heart there would be fun, I thought I'd give you back your damned Mr. Pointy." Spike said handing her a stake

    "Left it back at your crypt huh? Damn, knew I forgot something." she said taking it and stuffing it in her purse.

    "Must have been when you pulled it out on me and we played "Slayer and Big Evil Vampire". Getting forgetful since ya been back from the dead, baby." Spike smirked at her

    "Don't tempt me to dust you here." she said waving the stake at him, then turning and walking away from her vampire lover, "And don't call me baby!"

    Spike shrugged and followed her.

    "So what now?" Spike asked

    "I go home." she said bluntly

    "No time for one more game?" Spike asked grabbing her from behind and smelling the Herbal Essences in her hair.

    "One more game would keep me from walking. I have to walk to go home. Ergo no more games." She said breaking his grip

    "Damn it Buffy! I'm getting so bloody sick and tired of this…this SEX!" Spike roared

    Buffy turned and looked at him with wide eyes.

    "You know what I mean! I feel like I'm a piece of meat ya know. While I might like to be meat once and while and make you a fair piece too, I need other things." Spike looked at her very frustrated.

    Buffy just rolled her eyes and turned to walked away. Spike watched her and just turned in the opposite direction and walked away angrily. For a few moments there was silence.

    Then after those blissful moments, Buffy and Spike were back on one another again. They rolled on the ground and tore into one another like two hungry wolves. They kept this up until she was on top riding him and slapping him. Spike grinned and looked up, and saw fire in the sky.

    "Bloody Hell!" Spike said in total shock.

    Buffy just kept going.

    "Yeah say more things in British! Slap me bollocks!" Buffy said laughing not noticing.  

Spike grabbed her and adjusted her vision and her jaw dropped.

    "Magic Shop right?" Spike asked

    "Damn straight." Buffy responded.

    About an hour later, a small shop was lit up and various people were inside. There were Buffy and Spike of course. By the counter, stood Xander and his ex-demonic bride to be Anya. At a table sat a very attractive but shy young woman whose name was Tara. Near her was a teenager who looked absolutely tired. That would be Dawn, Buffy's younger sister. Well she was really energy in human form but we won't go into that. Near the back of the store was a young red haired and very nervous looking woman named Willow.

    "So why are we---YAWN--- here?" asked the near asleep Dawn.

    "Well I'd think it would have something to do with the hellfire and brimstone in the sky. Though I sincerely hope you guys just got lonely on patrol." Xander added

    "Let's go with "A" there." Buffy said to Xander

    "So, do we know anything about it?" Anya asked almost cheerfully

    "Working on it. Though I don't really like the idea of going through all of Giles' books back there, but fire in the sky usually isn't in the good category." Buffy said to Anya

    "Well, it's not been hurting anything yet has it?" Tara asked

    "Not yet but as I said, fire in the sky? Not of the good." Buffy replied

    "Research?" Dawn asked

     "Feel free to." Buffy added again

     "Good. I can go to sleep then." Dawn said laying her head down.

     "Well what do we know? Big fire in the sky. Granted, after that, not much but maybe I can…no…I'd better not." Willow said sheepishly looking at Tara, who quickly turned away.

    Willow and Tara had been lovers and witches. However due to Willow's addiction to using magic, they had basically split and weren't on good terms. While most of the group didn't really understand the plight of the two women, they were saddened by it. Well, not Anya. She didn't care. But Spike, jeez, you'd be surprised how much Passions could get to that guy, much less reality. Besides, star-crossed love was something he was well aware of.

    "You know there's something really familiar about all this. I think I saw it in a movie." Xander chimed in trying to break the awkward silence.

     "Oh great. That solved it right there. Let's just go to the projection booth and stop the reel. You and your stupid movies." Spike snarled, trying to make up for his feeling of lost machismo at the star-crossed plight of the witches.

     "At least I didn't like Passions." Xander shot back.

     "Touché." Spike sighed

     "Okay, big fire in sky. Why are we not moving past that? Come on guys help me out here. I have a former demon, a vampire, two witches, a sci-fi geek and a sleeping sister here. Feel free to jump all over it." Buffy said

    "Might be the end of the world." Anya said.

    "Oh good! The Apocalypse. We've been there. Handled it. No big deal right?" Willow asked

    "Yeah. Piece of cake. Hey, we can all get breakfast. Well except Spike." Xander added

    "Oooh! Can I get waffles?" Anya asked

    "Wait a tick, I want bloody waffles too! And some rare steak! Nice and bloody." Spike said.

    "You ever get pancakes covered in syrup?" Willow asked

     "Yeah with strawberries on top! Those are great!" Xander exclaimed

     "Z Z Z Z Z ", Dawn snored with her head rested on the table.

     Buffy and Tara just looked at one another. The phone started to ring but the discussion of breakfast went on. Tara simply got up to get the phone.

     "Telemarketer." Tara thought.

     "Guys! Back on subject okay?! Big fire in sky of undetermined origin. Us. End of world again maybe." Buffy yelled and spoke with her hands.

    They all just looked at her.

    "Jeez try to take this seriously!" Buffy preached

    "Buffy?" Tara asked

    "I mean come on. We've done the end of the world what? Four or five times?" Buffy continued.

    "Buffy?" Tara asked again.

    "I mean jeez you guys come out okay but I've died! Twice!" Buffy went on

    "BUFFY!" Tara uncharacteristically yelled

    "What?!" Buffy asked

    "I think you should take this. It's for you." Tara said holding out the phone

    Buffy just stomped over. She yanked the phone from Tara's hands.

    "Look! If this is about switching my long distance rates then you've got the wrong girl, at the wrong time of day, in the worst mood, trying to prevent a possible Apocalypse, so basically unless you have some earth shattering news about my huge phone bill that has been added to my already overflowing list then in the words of a royal pain in the ass, YOU CAN SOD THE HELL OFF!" Buffy screamed into the phone.

    Then her eyes got big.

    "Oh. I'm sorry Giles." Buffy said

    "Yes, yes it's all right, just please don't start quoting Spike more than you have to. People will talk." Giles said through the phone.

    "So….how are you?" Buffy asked

    "Splendid." Giles said to her

    "How did you know I was here?" Buffy asked again

    "Well in a situation of this magnitude and I'm sure you were all there at the shop." Giles said.

    "End of the world?" Buffy asked quietly

    "Quite possibly." Giles responded

    "So, what's the deal?" Buffy asked

    "Well about an hour ago, news stations all over England began to report strange phenomena. Patches of burning skies. Then I turned on CNN. More of the same. Headline News, FOX News, and it goes on and on. I wasn't sure what was going on but it has a supernatural bent to it. I did some thinking and reasoned it could be anything from a major fire demon to a small dimensional breach. Usually things of this magnitude happen briefly, anywhere from a few hours to a day at most and in more confined areas. However, they were spaced fairly far apart. I almost didn't notice it at first. But then when I heard one was appearing in Southern California, I naturally assumed the worst. And when I saw one was over Cleveland that's when the puzzle pieces all fit together. All of these patches are over Hellmouths." Giles explained

    "I knew it couldn't be good" Buffy replied

    "It will probably get worse. Frankly, I have no idea as to what is going on and have no clue as to how to prevent it. I'm not even sure what IT is to be honest. But I know it isn't good." Giles added

    "Yeah, I've hammered that point home on this side of the pond. Look, I know you want me to stand on my own and all, but what do I do? I mean this is a little out of my league." Buffy said

    "I honestly do not know Buffy. I'm going to try and get a flight out to California and see what can be done. Until then I suggest that you and the others prepare to leave town at a moment's notice and go to Los Angeles and try to find Angel. If I can't contact you once I land, I'll have to assume you all made it there." Giles said though he was afraid deep inside, "If anything seems to change at all, get out of town. I don't care how minute it may seem, but if anything seems to change about it, get out."

    "Okay, I don't like it but I know what you're getting at." Buffy replied

    "I'm going to go to the airport now. I hope I see you soon." Giles said

    "Yeah. Same here." Buffy smiled at the thought of Giles coming back. An Apocalypse does have an upside.

    "Buffy, please be careful." Giles said one last time.

    "I will. I promise." Buffy replied.

    The phone then clicked off.

    "Okay, so what did he have to say?" asked Spike

    "We sit tight, but just in case that anything could go wrong, we have things ready to get the hell out of dodge." Buffy said

    "Right. I'll go get my car. It's not an RV but it'll do." Spike said walking out the door before looking back at Buffy and thinking his feelings, "I love you Slayer. God knows I love you."

     "Maybe the rest of you should go get your things too. Call your families." Buffy suggested.

     "Right. Hey, I'll get coffee too. And donuts." Xander added, "And also make sure the bleached wonder isn't skipping town without us."

    "He won't." Buffy said.

    "Damn. I wanted waffles." Anya pouted

    "I'm going to go get some things." Willow said

    "Non-magical things?" Tara asked, looking at Willow.

    Willow looked at Tara's big beautiful eyes and felt a feeling of love for her and yet shame for how she had lost her. She looked at Tara and put on her bravest face and mustered up her bravest voice. This was the first time Tara had really spoken to her.

    "Yeah. Non-magical." Willow said before rushing out nearly in tears.

    It wasn't long before the sun was up and Spike was back cursing at it. Thankfully, Dawn's virgin ears were still asleep with the rest of her on the table. Spike walked in and sat down looking at Buffy with, as Xander would have said, "a get a roomy-ness sort of look". He stopped when she didn't return it. She did that partially out of the fact that a possible Armageddon might be going down, and partially because Dawn and Tara were in the room.

    Suddenly, Anya burst into the room.

    "He was right! He was right! Xander was right!" She exclaimed

    The others looked at her oddly. Xander……right? How could it be? Anya observed their look of disbelief.

    "I know! I know! I didn't believe him either but just go and look!"

    Buffy and Tara went running out the doors of the Magic Shop. Xander stood in the middle of a crowd of people. Some were running and some were just staring in awe. Some were screaming, others laughing. Xander just looked up in awe. Tara looked up and her jaw dropped. Buffy's eyes did their trademark enlarging. She walked to Xander.

    "Xander?" Buffy asked

    "Yuh huh?" Xander said not even looking at her

    "I think this constitutes a change in the burning skies." Buffy said looking up in the sky.

    "Yep. I knew I had seen this in a movie. You tell me that that's not a ship from Independence Day.", Xander simply stated

    Buffy couldn't tell him that it wasn't, because it was.


	2. When they say the Final Chapter, do they...

     Meanwhile, across town Willow was at Buffy's house gathering up her belongings. She picked up her favorite sweater, some money, and a picture album. She dropped it and her pictures poured out on the floor. There were pictures of her family. The gang. Oz. Even one of Cordelia. Then there was the picture of Tara she owned. Her mind instantly drifted back to the love sonnet Tara had sung her while under a demon's spell.

     Willow soon began to cry there on the floor looking at those haunting eyes. She had lost her. She had lost her by the abuse of power she had. She looked over and saw some herbs that she used to erase Tara's memory once. She could do it again, erase all their memories so that it would be like this had never happened. She reached out for them.

     "No." She sobbed pulling her hand back.

     The herbs were a huge temptation. Too much of one. In the next instant they were tossed outside her window and she began to leave the room with her belongings.

     Outside a large slimy boot smashed the herbs and its owner strode towards the house. Willow was walking down the stairs when the front door exploded in front of her. She froze when she saw what had caused it. Being Xander's best friend for years, she had seen a good deal of movies with him. She instantly recognized the figure in front of her and quickly turned and ran to the back. The figure walked maliciously after her. He would not be denied this kill.

     "Okay, so we have a flying saucer from a fictional movie parked over Sunnydale. In fact parked over every Hellmouth on earth." Buffy said aloud

     "Yeah. Doesn't really help things that these ships cause things to explode either now does it luv?" Spike added smoking a cigarette.

     "Should we try to leave town? I mean Giles told us to leave in case anything about the situation changed right?" Tara added

     "Well a lot of people are trying to leave right now. I don't think we'll get that far." Anya said examining the crowded street outside, "I hope they don't try to loot the place."

     "Well Hon, given what happened to the cities in Independence Day, I don't think that will be a problem. Okay, so we have spaceships. Anybody have a handy computer virus?" Xander asked

     "Well Willow is kind of the computer expert." Buffy explained

     Willow had her own problems at the moment as she was running down the back alleys of Sunnydale, being chased by her huge assailant. What was he doing here? How? Why was there a spaceship in the sky? What's going on?

     "Why am I running?" She suddenly asked herself amidst all the other questions, "I'm a witch! I abused my power but jeez, I kinda need it now!"

     Willow turned and looked at her attacker.

     "Burn" She said angrily as her opponent burst into flame at her command.

     He didn't stop.

     She surveyed the area. A fire hydrant was near him.

     "Burst and flow!", Willow commanded as the hydrant burst and the water pressure not only put out the fire and sent her enemy off his feet. She then looked up above him. Power lines.

     "Break." Willow said again as the line broke and hit her pursuer sending him into convulsions. He stopped moving and lay still. Willow looked at him and began to walk over to see if he was dead. "Wait a minute. I'm doing what they do in those movies!"

     Willow then turned and ran for the Magic Box as her enemy began to stand up.

     "There are spaceships outside?!" the newly awakened Dawn asked

     "Not just any spaceships, fictional ones!" Xander added

     "Cool. Can I see?" She asked

     "Not until Willow gets back." Buffy said to her

     "Why then?" Dawn asked puzzled

     "We're leaving." Buffy answered.

     "Oh here comes Willow now. People are scattering." Anya said looking out the window.

     Spike walked up beside her.

     "Why are they doing that?" Buffy asked

     "Probably because of the big bloke with the machete." Spike added.

     He calmly walked over to the door and waited for Willow. She burst threw the door and screamed exasperatedly. Spike nonchalantly pulled the cord that lowered the barricade that kept vandals out.

     "Xander! He was after me!" Willow screamed

     "Who was?!" Xander asked

     Willow made a ton of hand motions before uttering "Him!"

     Xander and the others just looked at her oddly. Suddenly the store windows exploded inward, barricade and all. In through the window came a large, rotting man wielding a machete and sporting a hockey mask.

     "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! IT'S JASON VOORHEES!" Xander screamed girlishly. Anya and Dawn instantly leapt behind him. He was right too. It was indeed Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th series.

     "Hey, Slap Shot!" Buffy yelled to Jason before taking a fighting stance

     Jason knew a challenge when he saw it. He walked towards Buffy machete raised. She raced towards him and grabbed a set of knives from the counter. He swung: she leapt up over him and landed at the window. She turned and threw the knives at him. Each blade hit the large zombie in the back and stuck there to boot. Buffy smiled, until Jason turned around and looked at her seemingly oblivious to the knives.

     "Xander! Get Dawn and Anya out of here! Willow, Tara, watch their backs and then try to figure out a way to help! Spike, lend me a hand?" Buffy shouted out

     "Love to Slayer but he ripped the windows out and he's standing in direct sunlight. I can't get close." Spike yelled

     "Okay, I'll get you some room." Buffy said running up to confront Jason head on. Again he swung and she managed to block it this time countering his super strength with her own. She was only barely doing so however. She quickly recalled her training and delivered seven right hooks and one huge kick to Jason's head. His head barely turned with each blow and then he delivered one of his own. Buffy went sailing into the air near Spike. Jason began to stride over only to have an arrow enter one eye hole of his mask. Spike stood by Buffy calmly sporting a crossbow.

     "You want some? Come get some you bleeding git." Spike snarled.

     Jason pulled the arrow out and walked towards Spike and Buffy, who was recovering. Spike looked at her and wiped the blood from her mouth and fought the urge to taste it. An instant later they were raining blows on Jason. A body shot here, a head shot there. It was smooth and precise. They both delivered two sidekicks at the same time that sent Jason into the counter shattering it.

     Jason regained his composure and walked mindlessly to them again. Spike again began to rain arrows on him with his crossbow. Buffy had grabbed an ornate axe and walked right up to Jason and hacked him in the shoulder. He seemed to feel it but then swung at her with his machete. Buffy pulled the axe from Jason's body and began to deflect his machete. They did this for minutes on end with Spike, careful not to get in the sun or shoot Buffy by mistake, firing arrows on Jason.

     Jason didn't seem to slow and eventually by sheer power alone he knocked the axe from Buffy's hand and grabbed her by the throat lifting her. Spike then immediately attacked Jason with an unmatched ferocity. He dropped Buffy and had blow after powerful blow nail him. Spike even made a huge crack in the hockey mask. Jason did not take kindly to that and head butted Spike, breaking what remained of his mask to pieces. Spike was stunned but didn't fall. Jason took this moment to run Spike through with his machete. Spike grimaced in pain as he looked into the nearly rotted face of Jason. Spike then spit on it.

     "There. It's an improvement." he muttered before being thrown off the machete and across the room. Buffy rose and kicked the machete from Jason's hand sending sailing through the air as well. He turned to her and they locked eyes. Buffy threw a left then a right. She side kicked him and savate kicked him, but to avail. He barely moved each time. He was absorbing her blows and gathering his strength for one of his own. A similar blow had decapitated a man once. He was hoping for the same effect.

     Twin blasts of magic however knocked him off balance and into Buffy who flipped him into the store wall. Jason got up to see Spike was standing along side Willow and Tara, the hands of the two Wicca blazing with energy. And Spike had a shotgun. The blast from the gun hit Jason directly in the head dazing him.

     "I'm insanely glad Anya kept this under the counter." Spike smirked.

     Buffy looked to the two witches.

     "Time to end this." Buffy smiled.

     Willow and Tara joined hands and soon a large bookshelf turned onto its back and careened into Jason's mid section holding him fast. Small daggers, swords and even the axe Buffy wielded went flying to Jason. They stuck in his arms, ran him through the chest, and the axe even nailed him in the head causing him to black out temporarily. He awoke a moment later to see Buffy standing in front of him. He growled and tried to reach for her but the blades held his arms fast. Buffy sneered.

     "Know what part of the movie it is now? The part where the girl kills you." Buffy said swinging Jason's own machete, beheading him.

     "Okay. So one fictional villain is down. What now?" Willow asked

     "We leave." Buffy said.

     The gang quickly loaded up into Spike's car. Buffy drove, scary as that seemed, as Spike was temporarily wounded from the fight with Jason. That and he utterly refused to let Xander drive.

     "So are we going to L.A.?" Xander asked

     "Yeah. Glad we got around that little traffic problem." Buffy added, "Back roads are a boon."

     "That road was too bumpy." Dawn said rubbing her head.

     "Bit, some pressure on the wound until it heals." Spike asked

     "Oh. Sorry Spike." Dawn apologized.

     Willow and Tara had the fortune to be seated together and were looking at each other.

     "Mad I used magic?" Willow asked

     "No. You had to. I understand that you had to use it to survive. I don't hold that against you." Tara said looking at Willow

     "Tara, I'm so sorry." Willow cried burying her head in Tara's shoulder

     "Shh. It's okay. We'll talk about it. I promise we will." Tara said glowing with understanding perhaps for the first time in a while.

     "Okay here's what I don't get about the ships." Xander stated

     "What's that?" Buffy asked

     "Why gather over top of Sunnydale?" Xander questioned

     "Huh?" Spike asked

     "Well in the movie they were all over big cities? Why a Hellmouth?" Xander asked again

     "Well, Giles didn't know and when he doesn't know something we're pretty much left to wonder for ourselves." Buffy said to Xander

     "That's not good." Xander added

     "Nope. See what they're doing is getting ready to fire those laser blaster thingies down through the town into the Hellmouth." Anya said

     "That's so not good." Xander said turning pale

     "So what would it do?" Buffy asked, and feeling incredibly stupid for asking.

     "In all likelihood unleash a wave of Hell energy outwards that would be capable of destroying a good chunk of California. Or anywhere else those Hellmouths are." Anya started again.

     "Ah how do you know this?" Spike asked

     "I was a vengeance demon for a thousand years. I caused it once. In Tunguska, Siberia about a hundred years ago." Anya said almost proudly, "Boy did I get punished for that one."

     "You're just kidding right? Right? TELL ME YOU'RE KIDDING!" Xander screamed

     "I'm kidding." Anya pouted

     "Sorry Anya but you're about as convincing as O.J." Buffy added in again.

     "So you honestly think that's what they're going to do?" Dawn asked afraid.

     "Oh yeah." Anya said not helping Dawn's fears.

     "Well now that we have that Scoob-a-rific mystery solved, the only question is when will it happen?" Xander asked

     He was greeted by an enormous boom and flash of light. Spike looked out the back windshield.

     "Oh…my…..God!" he muttered

     Miles away, the town of Sunnydale was gone, replaced by a large burst of Hellfire escaping from the earth's surface like a geyser erupting. It was miles long and it flowed upwards into the air. It hit the ship but did not destroy it. Spike could still make it out amongst the flame. That's about when the shockwave hit the car sending it flipping down the interstate. Dawn, Anya, Willow, and Tara screamed at the top of their lungs. Xander kept repeating "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God." over and over.

     Spike himself fell forward nearly breaking his tinted windshield. Buffy tried to remain calm but amidst all the chaos, her fear was showing. The car slammed into the ground. Small amounts off sunlight beamed through the fractured windshield searing Spike, who roared in pain. Buffy looked around. Xander was out cold. Dawn was awake but crying. Anya was desperately trying to awaken Xander. Buffy looked at Tara and Willow who were embracing one another. Their magic had held the car in one piece as best as could be expected.

     "Everyone ok?" Buffy asked

     "NO!!!" Spike yelled in pain. 

     "I guess so." Dawn sobbed quietly.

     "Xander's out cold but he's breathing. I'm okay." Anya said

     "We're good. What about you Buffy?" Willow asked

     "Right as rain. Thanks guys. You just saved us all." Buffy smiled

     Willow smiled but then quickly began to cry.

     "My parents!" She wailed

     "Buffy….my friends." Dawn sobbed. Buffy embraced Dawn and looked out the window behind her younger sister.

     "We'll be okay Dawn. Just hold me tight." Buffy said turning pale

     Spike looked at Buffy's face and could see she was looking at something. He looked out the window at the wall of Hellfire sweeping towards them.

    On a passenger jet above the Atlantic Ocean, one Rupert Giles had the feeling that he had just lost something of great importance.


	3. Straight From The Bowels of Hell

     Angel drove down the deserted highway with the gravest of intentions. His mind flowed back to early in the day. He was just ready to go to bed when the news about the ships broke. When he heard that one was over Sunnydale, he was immediately afraid for Buffy and had tried to get in touch with her. Unfortunately, she wasn't answering her number. Then the blast hit. He heard a huge boom in the distance like thunder and heard Wesley shriek.

     "My God!" Wesley stammered.

     "This is shaping up to be a bad day." Angel had said walking to where Wesley was standing.

    He soon noticed the intensity of light but knew it was not the light of the sun. He had seen this light before, in Hell. He froze when he saw the pillar of Hellfire rising into the sky in the distance. Even though Sunnydale was two hours away, he still saw the great blast of fire and immediately he thought of her.

     "Buffy.", he had murmured.

     That's when the room started to shake. Angel heard Connor scream in the next room. He shot to his side as fast as he could. Wesley soon joined him in the doorway where it was customary to stand in light of an earthquake.

     "This is not a regular earthquake Angel. Not even for L.A. This is too intense." Wesley had shouted over the rumbling.

     He didn't have to tell Angel about it. He knew. Angel simply calmed Connor. The earthquake raged and roared and Angel heard a scream over it.

     "That sounded like Fred." Angel remarked while handing his son to Wesley, "Wesley, take care of him."

     Angel then raced out of the doorway and out into the hall. Debris was falling from everywhere. He leapt over the upstairs balcony and landed in the lobby of the hotel. He saw Fred screaming and attempting to lift a huge wooden beam that had fallen on their friend Gunn. Angel ran over to her.

     "Angel! I can't move it!" Fred pleaded.

     "It's okay. Gunn, can you talk?" Angel asked the near unconscious Gunn.

     "A little. Hurts like Hell." Gunn said to Angel.

     "Okay, Fred when I count to three, I need you to pull Gunn out from under this as quickly as possible." Angel said to the frightened girl

     "I don't know if I'm strong enough." Fred said.

     "You have to be. Now, one, two, three!" Angel said straining to lift the beam off of Gunn. Fred strained herself and managed to pull Gunn out from under it. Angel then surveyed the hotel.

     "We have to get out of here. Gunn can you walk?" Angel asked

     "Yeah. I think so." Gunn replied with machismo

     "Okay. Fred, help him out of here. Wesley get down here! We have to go!" Angel shouted.

    Soon, the awkward form of Wesley came bounding down the stairs with Connor. Angel took his son to better protect him and they all rushed out to the street and jumped into his car with Wesley making the top come up to shield Angel from the sun's light. The quake raged on with pieces of buildings collapsing all over the place. Wesley did his best to avoid falling debris though they were occasionally bombarded with it. Fred shrieked when she looked downtown and saw skyscrapers collapsing.

     "I don't know if I can handle this." Fred screamed.

     "Where are we going?" Gunn asked

     "Yes where ARE we going?" Wesley also asked

     "Caritas. The Host's sanctuary spell make it the best place for us to hide out. I just hope we get there before every other demon in L.A. gets the same idea." Angel said calming his son.

     "What about Cordelia?" Wesley asked

     "I'm not sure. We just have to get there first. Then we'll figure out what to do about Cordy." Angel said coolly.

     The accommodations weren't much. Despite the bar's mystic "connections", it was still in a shambles from Holtz's little attack a few weeks ago. The Host stood there in his standard three piece suit looking as stylish as a green demon with horns could look in a situation like this. The quake had stopped just as Angel and the crew had entered the bar.

     "Hell of a day huh?" Lorne, the Host, said to Angel.

     "Tell me about it. The hotel is a total loss." Angel said to him.

     "The bar is okay, but no karaoke. What kind of deity would allow such a thing?" Lorne asked looking upwards.

     "Look, is it too much trouble for us to be here?" Angel asked

     "Not at all. You have a baby and an injured man here. I've told you before, Caritas is and always will be a sanctuary. Besides, you got here first. I'm filling the bar to maximum occupancy and then I'm barricading the doors. Can't have every demon in the City of Angels sneaking in now can I?" Lorne said smiling

     "Heard anything from Cordelia?" Angel asked hopefully

     "Heard enough. She's here. Was here for martinis when the quake hit." Lorne said

     "Who drinks martinis at seven in the morning?" Angel asked puzzled

     "A person who had a vision that their parents died." Lorne said pointing to a crying Cordelia in a corner, "Poor thing, now that those visions of hers don't hurt anymore it's harder to tell."

     "Tell what?" Angel asked.

"Whether or not she actually has one. She was asleep when it happened and it woke her up. She thought it might not have been a vision at first: just a dream. Still, scary dream. She came to drown her sorrows here but when the quake hit she realized that she did indeed have a vision about Sunnydale being destroyed."

     Angel stood silently at hearing the word Sunnydale and it always drove him to thinking of Buffy. He looked over at the crying Cordelia. He thought of Buffy, of Xander, Willow, hell even Spike. He knew what he had to do.

     He had left hours ago, handing Connor to Wesley to watch after. Naturally, his friends protested his insistence on going alone and in the daylight. He had assured them that he would be alright, that the sunlight wouldn't bother him while he was in the car. Angel flatly told them that with L.A. in near ruins and Sunnydale almost assuredly destroyed that it was no trip for an infant, a wounded man, and two women with questionable mental stability at the moment. Wesley said that he and the Host could go with him, but again Angel told them no (which Lorne seemed grateful for). They needed to watch after the bar and the others. Angel went alone.

     It had taken hours to get out of Los Angeles alone, but now he was nearing Sunnydale. Or what was left. He got out of the car into the night and simply stared. Sunnydale and all the area for miles around was gone. Only a huge crater remained. Angel looked into the sky and saw the mysterious ship had disappeared as well. He hadn't even thought of that. His mind was still dwelling on Buffy. He just looked at the crater. She had to be alive. She just had to. But the sad reality of it all sunk in. She couldn't be. And Angel's cries of rage echoed in the night.

     "Tough break amigo. Tough break." a voice said

     Angel turned and saw…

     "Trick?" Angel asked confused

     "In the flesh." Trick laughed.

     "You're dead though." Angel stammered in disbelief

     "Yeah. That little number Faith did me in. But I'm back. And so are these boys." Trick laughed baring his fangs as vampires appeared out of the shadows.

     Dozens of them. Maybe even fifty. Angel even recognized a few. They were vampires he and Buffy had killed before. Angel knew what was next. In a moment they were on him. Angel bared fangs of his own however and began to fight the vampires off as best he could. There were just too many of them though. They beat him and held him down. He lashed out at them but they held him fast. Trick walked over to the downed Angel.

     "Let him have it boys." Trick laughed, "Pull his head clean off."

     Angel braced for the pain before a hand grabbed Trick and placed him in a headlock. Angel saw it was a huge vampire. A huge vampire who had been killed by Buffy when she first came to Sunnydale six years ago.

     "Let him up Trick." Luke said tightening his grip on Trick's head.

     Trick squirmed and hissed but soon realized he couldn't get free.

     "Fine. Let him go." Trick hissed

     Angel got up and looked at the huge vampire.

     "Mind explaining to me why you're all alive?" Angel said bracing for another battle. Luke simply stared at him without expression.

     "I'll tell you why, lover." a feminine voice rang.

     Angel turned and saw a beautiful blonde woman clad in a red shirt and black pants smiling at him intently.

     "Darla?" Angel babbled

     "I just won't stay dead baby." Darla said walking over to Angel and tracing a line on his chest, "Just like your Slayer."

     "Start talking. What do you know?" Angel said backing away.

     "Hell is destroyed. We're free to roam the earth again. Every vampire, demon and monster that ever died are pouring out of Hellmouths all over the world. Something happened. The walls of Hell just got breached by something. Next thing you know all the fire is gone and we got vomited into earth's upper crust. We stayed there until night fell. Now however we're on the move. We've rallied all the vampires under our control. This planet will soon belong to the demons again. Isn't that nice?" Darla giggled

     "Who? You and Luke? It would take a hell of a lot more to get them to work together than you two." Angel growled

     "Yes. It took me."

     Angel froze. If his heart could beat it would have skipped one. He swallowed hard and turned to the voice behind him. He looked and saw that not five feet away, stood the Master.

     "Rise and shine."

     Buffy opened her eyes and found herself in the bar called the Bronze.

     "What happened?" Buffy asked. But no reply came. She looked over and saw the others likewise just waking up.

     "What's going on?" a newly awakened Xander asked

     "No idea. Last thing I remember was being in the car." Buffy mentioned

     "Then why are we at the Bronze?" Anya questioned

     "Well hopefully to drink." Spike said leaping over the counter and getting a bottle of whiskey.

     "What happened with all the fire and destruction?" Willow asked

     "I don't like this." Tara added

     "Buffy," Dawn said looking at her older sister, "Are we dead?"

     "No, no dear child. Nothing so crude." the voice that spoken to Buffy resounded.   

     Suddenly, traces of light began to form in the room. They formed a man of average height and build with brown hair on his head. On his body was a skintight uniform with black and red as its colors. Xander immediately showed recognition.

     "Okay this is just crazy now." He said

     "Like it wasn't before?" Dawn asked him

     "Who are you?" Buffy asked the man

     "Oh. It's obvious to the moppet back there." the man smiled sitting on a couch.

     "Xander?" Buffy asked

     "Q." Xander said

     "Who?" Spike asked

     "Q." Xander said again

     "No, we're wanting his name Xander not a letter." Anya explained

     "That is his name! It's Q. Just Q! Jeez, you people really need to watch Star Trek more often." Xander said

     "I knew it was him Xander." Willow added to reassure him and to prove their combined geekiness to the group.

     "Why's his name a letter?" Tara asked

     "Unimaginative parents?" Buffy said smirking at Q

     "Well, yes I suppose they were, but frankly Q is the closest thing to my real name that you insects can pronounce." Q smirked back.

     "Okay are we on trial for the fate of our race or did we cause a time anomaly to destroy life as we know it?" Xander asked

     "No." Q said bluntly

     "Just checking." Xander said walking to the bar, "Spike a drink. Make it strong."

     "So he's from that Star Trek show huh?" Spike said tossing Xander a beer.

     "Well the next generation." Xander added again.

     "What is he then?" Tara asked

     "Well….imagine God. Then imagine God's pesky little Dennis the Menace like brother." Xander said between drinks of the beer

     "He's God's brother?" Dawn asked

     "Not at all." Q laughed standing up

     "Then what are you?" Buffy asked getting up in Q's face

     "I'm Q." Q stated

     "You're a fictional character." Buffy said.

     "No, I'm not." Q answered, sounding hurt

     "Yes you are." Buffy said to him again.

     "No, I'm not. What's fictional to you might be fact to others." Q smiled

     "Okay, you saved us from the big wall of burning death and have us in some pseudo Bronze, and we demand answers." Buffy said with her hands on her hips.

     "Well first of all this IS your Bronze. I merely plucked it from the explosion of the Gateway." Q said

     "The Hellmouth?" Buffy asked

     "Is that what you amoeba call it? Well then yes." Q smiled

     "Why did you save us?" Buffy asked

     "Why not?" Q asked

     "Did you save everyone else?" Buffy asked again

     "No." Q said again.

     "Why?" Buffy demanded

     "I had no need of them." Q said walking and sitting on a stool.

     "You cold hearted son of a bitch!" Tara uncharacteristically screamed

     "Temper." Q said still smiling

     "Tara. Just calm down okay?" Willow asked. Tara looked at her and despite all the anger that had built in her for months and just been unleashed onto Q, calmed down.

     "You need us. Why? Why did I fight the guy from Friday the 13th earlier? Why did spaceships from Independence Day blow up my town? What's going on?" Buffy asked

     "Alright. I'll tell you. It might be a little hard to follow, but bear with me. I am from another reality, many times removed from your own. As a matter of fact, I'm from another reality plus a few centuries in the future. The dimension of that "Star Trek" your friend spoke of. You see, what you view as mere fantasy actually exists in other universes." Q said

     "Okay so why do we know about it? I mean its just too big of a coincidence for it to actually exist." Xander asked

     "Too true, Too true. The proper explanation is a bit too hard for your pathetic little human minds to comprehend. It's easiest just to say that if you can imagine something, somewhere in infinity, it exists. Basically, all universes are linked by subconscious surges in reality. It may even surprise you that you are all "fictional" in some universes. You're a very popular, what do you call it? Ah yes, television program." Q grinned

     "Cool!" Xander laughed.

     The others just looked at him, Q included.

     "Sorry."

     "Did you cause this mess?" Willow asked

     "No I didn't." Q said

     "Then who did?" Buffy asked

     Q looked at her and quit smirking.

     "Pure evil. A demon. In fact a Lord of Hell." Q said, with absolutely no amusement.

     "A Lord of Hell did this?" Anya asked.

     "Makes sense." added Spike

     "Okay forgive my youth, but what's a Lord of Hell?" Dawn asked

     "Dear Key, you should know. Glorificus or Glory as you knew her was one. However, she was a bit underpowered during her tenure on earth. A Lord of Hell is exactly what it is billed as. A Ruler of the pan-dimensional realm of Hell. Hell, like Heaven and Purgatory, exists in every dimension, every reality in one form or another. Each Lord is given rule of a small expanse of Hell that covers one universe. It is their job to try and unbalance good and evil by gaining as many "souls" as possible. This particular Lord of Hell attempted to set in motion the Apocalypse in his universe. He was thwarted. Nearly destroyed. When he had regained strength he traveled back to Hell to find ownership of his lands usurped by a creature known as Sin. He appealed to the Morningstar." Q explained while looking directly at Buffy.

     "Well you know the Morningstar as Lucifer or Satan or whatever you wish to call it. The Morningstar would not hear the plea of the Hell Lord and cited the acquisition of his lands by Sin as a punishment for his failure. He would have to work his way back up to Hell Lord status through billions of years of work. The Hell Lord rejected this and fled from Hell. He drifted aimlessly for a century or two formulating a plan. While weakened, he did have the power to cross the barriers between realities. He plundered weaker worlds and overwhelmed them. He destroyed enemies and created havoc in general, laying waste to worlds. Whatever served him loyally joined him in his quest. The quest to usurp the throne of Hell itself and to then take Heaven as well. I learned of him after he acquired a powerful ring from a lesser being called Sauron on a backwater world. I saw this creature's rage and alerted my people. We watched as he kept gaining armaments and dimensions. Soon, he began to break the barriers to Hell itself and in doing so drained it of its flame, drawing it into him to make him stronger. Whatever Lord of Hell ruled that area of Hell would be destroyed and absorbed into his essence if it refused to serve him. He's done this for untold millennia as time moves differently in different realities." Q explained

     "That's what he did to Sunnydale. But why use the ships? Why not do it himself?" Buffy asked

      "Very simple. He wasn't even in your dimension. He was taking another as they broke the dimensional barrier and transmitted the Hellfire to him. He has doubled his efforts because he senses that the Q Continuum is planning to strike against him soon. He needs all the power he can get. As do we if we are to defeat him." Q said

     "Why save us though?" Xander asked Q

     "Because I have need of you. Here on this primitive backwater world in a backwater universe, you have all saved reality. You saved reality from Glory. Each universe has at least one central protector to save it. Maybe only once, maybe multiple times. You are one of those beings vampire slayer." Q said looking at Buffy

     "So I need to save my world?" Buffy asked

     "In addition to countless others. You creatures are but a fraction of the armies being gathered to battle this being. I have need of you to recruit a few more allies in addition to finding parts of a weapon to help us against this creature. I'll send each of you to different realties. Realties untouched by the demon, for now. You may find opposition though in the form of his armies.  You will be obligated to finding your new allies and the part needed. Mentally, you'll be aware of the part of the weapon needed and be able to track it. I will handle the proper transportation to these worlds. I would do it all myself but I need to conserve my powers for the battle. Please, I may not be the most pleasant being to be around but right now the survival of countless dimensions are at stake. I need your help." Q said almost sympathetic

     "So guys? I'm up for it. Are you?" Buffy asked the rest of the group after hearing Q's story.

     "Do we get our families back?" Willow asked Q

     "If you like. You can undo the damage although you'd quite frankly be stronger creatures if you just moved on." Q said

     "We want them back." Xander said in his best forceful voice

     "Fine. You know you almost sounded like Jean Luc there for a moment." Q smirked

     "Really?" Xander asked

     "No. Not really." Q said.

     "Well if we get everyone back then I'm in." Willow said

     "Me too." Xander added

     "Me three." Tara spoke up

     "I guess so. Just don't send me to a dimension where the boys I like are all vampires." Dawn said meekly

     "I have no idea what you mean but fine." Q said confused

     Buffy looked over at the bar.

     "Spike?" She asked. Spike took a swig of whiskey then sat it down

     "Sure. Could be fun. Just send me where I can hit things." Spike smirked at Buffy.

     Everyone looked at Anya. She looked back at them confused then recognition shot through her.

     "Oh! Yeah! Sure. I guess." Anya said somewhat confused

     "Good. Now off with you all." Q snapped his fingers sending them off


	4. Rock The Dragon

     Back on earth, the vampires were moving south to Los Angeles, led by the Master. However they were not the only things released by the Hellmouth explosion. A few minor demons stood on a hilltop led by the cyborg-demon-human creature Adam.

     "So the Master is back and all the vampires are with him. That's fine. We're well within set parameters. Soon, I'll take the vampires and be their Master and the Master of all I perceive." Adam bellowed before hearing a huge crashing behind him.

     He turned to see one demon devoured and another batted away by an enormous tail. He himself was shocked to see a gigantic snake in front of him. He was even more shocked when it spoke.

     "No, no, no. Cities don't have Masters. They have Mayors." the huge snake bellowed as it devoured Adam in one gulp. Mayor Richard Wilkins was back.

     Buffy awoke in a beautiful meadow. The sun was gloriously blazing overhead and morning dew dropped from the trees onto the tall grasses. She sat up and looked around as thoughts began to flood her head.

     "Wow. Just like a map. Okay, so I have to go down this road for a few miles, make a left at the river and travel a few more miles till I get what I need. Thanks Q. Piece of cake." Buffy said as she stood up and listened to the directions Q had placed in her head.

     About then is when she heard the growl.

     "Yeah. Poisoned cake." Buffy said as she looked overhead.

     It landed and looked at her. It wore contemporary dress. A hat, a trench coat and other clothing but its bat-like wings were visible before they disappeared beneath its coat. It looked at her and she saw its scaly green face and razor sharp teeth as it smiled. It sniffed the air and smiled for intently at her. It then roared into the air. Buffy stared at the creature.

     "So we going to fight or you just going to growl?" Buffy smirked pulling out good old Mr. Pointy

     The creature in front of her smiled its wicked smile again and removed a small axe and sword from its coat. Then over the trees they came, flying like the bats of Hell itself. Flying monkeys.

     "You have got to be kidding." Buffy said as she looked at the unholy horde of flying simians.

     She was so distracted that she was almost caught off guard by the coated creature in front of her. Almost. She managed to avoid the initial slash and then delivered a powerful kick. Unfortunately it didn't connect. The creature simply avoided it and then showed her what a kick really was. Then the monkeys were on her tearing and gnashing. Buffy actually jammed her stake in one monkey to get it off of her. She managed to fight off the rest and soon the creatures were backing away from her.

     That's when she got another kick to the face that sent her flying. She landed in a heap, near unconscious. This thing was strong and fast. It was defeating her with seeming ease. The monkeys also regrouped and were following the creature as it walked to her, its axe ready to take from her what it had smelled and enjoyed about her body. Buffy tried to get up, but as if it was punishing her, the creature kicked her in the ribs. Buffy cried out in pain as the creature prepared to finish her.

     "HEY! How about you pick on someone your own size." a powerful voice rang out.

     The creature cocked its head at the new arrival and then was sent flying by a powerful blow. It quickly regained its composure when it stopped in midair by use of its wings. The monkeys instantly leapt at the new arrival but were soon thrown back. They then scampered and flew into the air screeching. The creature that had been punched shrugged at the cowards and then flew back in for an attack. He slammed into his opponent and they went tumbling.

     Buffy managed to turn her head and look at the two struggle on the ground. They didn't stay there for long. The creature took the man into the air and then dropped him. Buffy's savior hit the ground and didn't move. The creature then landed and strode over to him. It smiled and sniffed the air. It smelled something strong on the newcomer. Something it wanted.

     But as soon as he was close to the man, he sprang up and delivered a powerful double axe handle. It screamed and punched him. He punched back. It head butted him and swung a small sword at the man. The man blocked it with a metal gauntlet on his wrist. He then punched the creature again and again building momentum. The creature was not doing well. It couldn't fight back and was too dazed to evade. The only thing it could do was fly. Upwards, it went and it disappeared over the tree line in pursuit of the monkeys. The man who had saved Buffy strode over to her and helped her up. He was a big man, very muscular with long golden brown hair.

     "Are you alright?" he asked

     "Yeah fine." she said dazed

     "Nice moves there. Too bad he was just a little too fast for you." the man said steadying her

     "Yeah, but I've got his measure now. Still he was going postal on me." Buffy said

     "Postal?" the man asked confused

     "Never mind. Alternate universe, probably not the same lingo as back home. I'm Buffy." she said shaking his hand.

     "Hercules." he said

     "NO WAY!" Buffy said surprised

     Hercules just shrugged. No one ever did believe it.

     Meanwhile, the creature was flying back to its base. A city very nearby. The city of Athens. It landed on the main streets of the city with its pitiful band of flying monkeys. Nearby, an elderly man with a white beard flanked by several ugly creatures and a woman in black with green skin. The creature walked to the elderly man and kneeled.

     "Lord Sarumon, I return." it said

     "What is the status of the interlopers?" the older man, Sarumon asked

     "The rebels still protect the Creation Stone. Our search party was repelled by the demigod." the creature explained

     "All of you? You yourself are near his equal Creeper." Sarumon said sounding angry

     "Yes. We would have won, if I had Orcs with me and not those winged apes." the creature, Creeper said pointing to the flying monkeys, "They fled after barely attacking him. I was left by myself."

     Sarumon looked over at the woman.

     "You assured me that these creatures had fighting spirit, witch. You assured me that their range and ferociousness were second to none." he said angrily

     "It's not my fault! They are supposed to be vicious!" The witch said in her defense

     "Obviously, they are not. You shall pay the price for lying to me and to our glorious master." Sarumon replied

     "I'll pay no price you miserable old fool!" she screeched in defiance.

     In the next instant she however burst into flames. Sarumon smiled and turned to Creeper.

     "Now that that is taken care of, you will have your Orcs, Creeper. And tell the other Orcs that the monkeys are now open season." Sarumon said

     "Sir, there was another. In strange dress: a woman. She was strong. Stronger than any Amazon we have killed. And she was unafraid of me." Creeper responded

     "Hmm. The only one that matches that description is that Xena person these peasants revere. But she hasn't been seen in over a year. It is possible however, that this woman was perhaps not of this world. Perhaps our master's foes have begun to put forces against our own. The Creation Stone. That's it. She has been sent here to take it for safekeeping. Creeper, assemble a battalion. Take Lurtz with you." Sarumon smiled, "And perhaps our pet as well."

     Meanwhile, a reality away, Dawn was greeted with some interesting surprises.

     "Did I just see a cat dressed in a suit?" Dawn thought in her head very shocked.

     She has just appeared in this incredible city where there were huge buildings of incredible size and odd shapes, there were people with amazing shades of blue and green for hair, and even animals walking on their hind legs dressed in suits no less. Dawn felt like she was in a very weird place. So she did the only thing she thought was reasonable.

     "A mall. Great and me being Queen Klepto" she smiled.

    She walked into the large mall and looked around. Despite the fact that this was an alternate reality and there were cat and dog people walking around, it seemed like the same mall in Sunnydale. Some shops were even in the same places. Dawn smiled as she looked at clothing.

     "So I'm at a mall when I'm supposed to look for those things Q wanted me too. But jeez, how am I supposed to find ALL seven of those when they're all in different places on the planet. I might as well just hang out until I think of something. Did I bring any money?" Dawn thought as she visualized the map that Q had placed in her head before arriving in this reality.

     She soon realized that she did indeed have money, just not very much. And also perhaps not in the same currency as this universe

     "Thanks a lot Q. I guess even big cosmic guys are cheap." Dawn said aloud as she walked over to the food court and sat down in a huff.

     "So how am I supposed to find those…..what do you call them? Dragon Balls? I mean I barely have money for a burger and fries and these things are all over the place. I can't walk that far!" Dawn said aloud in between bites of her burger.

     A keen pair of ears however heard words she had spoken.

     "Excuse me. Did you say Dragon Balls?" the owner of the ears asked Dawn from the next table.

     Dawn turned and felt her knees grow weak. It was a boy. Not just any boy. He was very handsome and had a crop of purple hair on his head with searing purple eyes.

     "Ummm yeah." she said just gazing at him

     "Why do you need them?" the boy asked her 

     "Well, see this might sound weird….actually replace "might" with "will"… but I'm not from this dimension and there's this big evil guy who blew up my hometown and he wants to destroy the multiverse and stuff and this other powerful guy sent me after these balls to help kill this guy. Umm." Dawn said turning red with embarrassment after blurting out a really unbelievable and contrived story to the cutest guy she had ever met.

     "Okay. Need help?" came his reply

     Dawn looked at him shocked

     "Huh?" was all she could muster

     "Do you need help? I mean I'm offering." the boy said

     "Well, yeah. I do." Dawn said looking at him.

     "Okay, you got it." he replied

     "Just like that?" Dawn asked

     "Yeah."

     "No questions?"

     "Nope."

     "Why?" Dawn asked

     "Why what?" the boy asked

     "Why do you believe me?" Dawn wondered

     "Oh. That sort of thing you mentioned happens a lot around here." the boy smiled

     "Oh! Okay! Ummm…I'm Dawn." Dawn said sheepishly

     "That's a pretty name. I'm Trunks." the purple haired boy smiled

     "Yeah. That's an ummm pretty name too." Dawn said internally "Blahing" at his name.

     "Okay so you say you need the Dragon Balls right?" Trunks said getting up

     "Yeah. I kind of do." Dawn said following him

     "Just so happens that my mom looked for those when she was a teenager. She has this tracer thing that points them out." Trunks said exiting the mall

     "Cool. So we going to your car?" Dawn asked slightly nervous

     "I don't drive." Trunks replied

     "We're walking to your house?" Dawn asked horrified

     "No. We're flying." Trunks said with a burst of energy suddenly creating a small field around him. Dawn was stunned.

     "You can fly?" Dawn asked wide eyed

     "Yeah." Trunks said to her

     "Cool!" Dawn exclaimed leaping into his arms

     Trunks was a bit shocked at this, as was Dawn herself. But in a moment their shyness disappeared and they were airborne. Dawn was a bit scared at first but she felt safe with Trunks. Trunks likewise was a bit nervous. He was taking a girl home to see….his family! 

     Soon, they landed in front of a huge building in a grassy area. It was beautiful Dawn thought while looking at the nearby trees and then marveled at the large building and smaller buildings dotting the landscape.

     "You live HERE?" she marveled at the huge Capsule Corps building.

     "Yeah. My grandpa started the company. Mom pretty much runs it now. I'll probably be running it in a few years." Trunks said without the awe that Dawn displayed

     "Wow. Rich, good looking, AND has superpowers." Dawn thought while drooling. Soon, she got up the nerve and spoke again, "So what does the company do?"

     "We make little capsules that when you pull the pin on them like a grenade and toss them, they become cars, machines, even houses." Trunks again stated plainly

     "That's amazing. We don't have anything like that where I'm from." Dawn said in awe again.

     "It's okay I guess. Come on. We'll inside and get mom's tracer." Trunks said walking to the door of the building.

     Dawn simply followed him and looked around. It was practical enough inside the building. Trunks then led Dawn down a hallway that was almost futuristic. On one side was a huge door which have must led to a gigantic room. Dawn looked at it for a second before she jumped back at the sound of a loud roar of anger from inside.

     "Does this place double as a prison?" Dawn asked, looking at Trunks

     "No. That's just my dad working out." Trunks laughed

     "He gets really into it." Dawn remarked

     "He's a serious guy. Too serious, but he's the best guy you want on your side in a fight and the last guy you want against you." Trunks smiled thinking of his father

     "So where's this tracer?" Dawn asked

     "In my mom's lab. Looks like she's gone today though. Probably in one of the other domes doing an experiment or out shopping with 18 and Chi Chi." Trunks added

     "What weird names they have here?" Dawn thought

     Trunks led her to a room where countless inventions lay strewn across tables. Huge computer screens were in the background. Dawn watched as Trunks dug through all the junk and looked here and there for the tracer.

     Dawn hopped up on a table and simply watched him. She suddenly very glad that Q had sent her here. Trunks was different as far as boys go, but that was good. He was the strong silent type and she liked that. She could just watch him for hours. She smiled and pined for him.

     Trunks had felt an immediate attraction for Dawn as well. She was likewise different from most of the girls here. She wasn't as flashy, but that didn't mean she wasn't eye catching. She was very normal with brown hair and blue eyes. She seemed innocent and he liked that, despite the fact he couldn't stand to look at her eyes for fear of turning red with embarrassment. He had finally found the tracer too.

     "Got it!" he said excitedly.

     Dawn's eyes lit up as he smiled in finding the tracer. Trunks likewise smiled back as his own eyes lit up. Their eyes also met. There was something they could feel in the air. An attraction between the two that went beyond the fact that they had just met. They seemed to soar and they felt as if their hearts had tugged at one another. Dawn was reminded of how Buffy used to talk about Angel once. She seemed to feel the same way for Trunks. It was as if, they were fated to find one another, despite time and space. They felt inside despite having only known one another for fifteen minutes that their hearts had known one another even longer. Was it fate? Possibly. God placing two hearts together as one? Undoubtedly. They knew only that moment and it stretched into eternity as their eyes and heart met and placed love in one another. Trunks slowly walked to Dawn and she waited for him. Trunks sat the tracer beside her and put his arms around her waist as he thought he should. Dawn's arms likewise wrapped around his neck. Their eyes met again and angelic music seemed to play in their minds as their faces moved closer.

     They kissed. It was gentle, but it was a kiss of fiery passion. A kiss of purest love. A kiss that bound them to one another. A kiss that neither wanted to stop because in this moment they had found bliss, found nirvana, found Heaven.

     Then again it was possibly just hormones.

     Trunks smiled but for a brief instant he caught an image from the corner of his eye. He quickly recoiled. Dawn was shocked and she turned to see two people standing in the doorway of the lab. One was a woman with greenish blue hair wearing a red miniskirt. The other was a heavily muscled but not huge man in a simple bluish black jumpsuit with a huge amount of black spiked hair on his head. The woman seemed shocked while the man had no expression on his face save a look of anger. Trunks swallowed hard.

     "Hey mom. Hey dad." he said sheepishly

     The woman instantly began to clear her throat.

     "Hello Trunks, who is your…ummmm…friend?" she asked

     "Oh. Mom, Dad, this is Dawn. Dawn this is my mom, Bulma and my dad, Vegeta." Trunks explained as best he could without blushing.

     Vegeta just kept staring angrily. He made Dawn very nervous, but he seemed very familiar. She had seen that cold indifferent look on Spike many times before he got into a fight. Bulma however rushed over to Dawn and began talking to her.

     "Well hello Dawn. It's nice to meet you! Do I know your parents by any chance?" Bulma smiled

     "No. My mother passed away and I rarely see my dad." Dawn said to her

     "Oh. I'm sorry dear." Bulma said genuinely

     "It's okay." Dawn replied

     "Answer me this girl, why do you want the Dragon Balls?" Vegeta said gruffly, noting the tracer at her side.

     "Dad. She's from another dimension. A guy who sounds a lot like Majinn Buu is attacking it and destroying cities. She was sent to get the Dragon Balls by someone so they can save their dimension!" Trunks added

     "Oh dear, don't you have anyone who can handle this threat?" Bulma asked

     "Well, he sent people to blow up my town. They did and we nearly died. I don't think we can handle it." Dawn said

     "A town? HA! That's it? Pathetic." Vegeta sneered

     "HEY! A lot of my friends died there so you shut up!" Dawn exclaimed before she realized what she had said

     Vegeta strolled over and stared at her in a way that made whatever courage she had had before melt away.

     "Vegeta! Stop it! You're frightening the poor girl!" Bulma said angrily

     Vegeta just kept staring at Dawn hatefully.

     "Quiet woman." he said to Bulma, "Girl, do not think to disrespect me in my own home."

     Trunks stepped in between Dawn and Vegeta and stared at his father.

     "You challenge me too eh?" Vegeta asked

     "No. I don't have a chance against you dad, but you always want respect. Show some for the dead." Trunks said to him

     "You tell me what to do now? How dare you?!" Vegeta said angrily.

     "Trunks, it's okay. I apologize." Dawn said holding his arm

     "Vegeta! You shouldn't act this way! This girl's been through a lot." Bulma explained

     Vegeta looked at his son Trunks, who was showing fear yet bravery in his face. Vegeta's sneer turned to a smirk.

     "You're a little soft Trunks, but you make me proud." Vegeta said to him, "But don't get too full of yourself. I won't be so forgiving next time."

     "I don't expect it father." Trunks replied picking up the tracer, "Come on Dawn. Let's go find the Dragon Balls. Then we'll go back to your world. By the way, how do we do that?"

     "Umm…I'm not sure. I guess after I get the balls I go back. Really we don't even need the tracer because I have a map in my mind that shows me where they're at." Dawn said to Trunks.

     "You don't know the lay of the land like I do. This tracer will be more accurate." Trunks replied smiling at her.

     "Now wait just a minute! Trunks, do you think you're just going to get the Dragon Balls and run off to fight some powerful monster by yourself?! HMMM?! Vegeta, go with them!" Bulma said to Vegeta who stood by unfazed at her demand that he go

     "Well, this should prove to be interesting." Vegeta said dryly walking out of the room

     "AND CALL GOKU AND THE OTHERS!!!" Bulma roared at him

     Vegeta stormed back in.

     "WHAT?!!!!" Vegeta roared back, "Damn it woman, must Kakkarot always be a part of these ordeals?!", Vegeta demanded

     "I'd just feel better if you took Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo along!" Bulma added

     "But…..but……..BLAST IT WOMAN!" Vegeta roared realizing there was no chance of her changing her mind.

     That and she was too good in bed to up and kill.

      Deep in a Hell a lone creature sat. He was an artificial being, an android if you will. He had been sitting in this cell for close to ten years now. Fitting that he was sitting in a cell, for that was his name.

     Cell had been the ultimate weapon, an android with mechanical parts yet made up of living cells of the world's greatest fighters. After a series of evolutions, Cell had basically defeated every being who had set out against him. Even Goku. Yes, even him. Goku, the rival to Vegeta, the proudest and strongest of all the warriors in the world. Or so he thought.

     Little did Cell know, Goku's young son Gohan was more than his match. Even then, Cell had nearly killed the child and if not for the intervention of Vegeta, Gohan and the entire world would be dead. He was momentarily distracted and that allowed Gohan to deliver the killing blow, a mammoth blast of energy that completely destroyed his body. And so Cell sat in the dark recesses of his universe's Hell, ever angry, ever hungry for vengeance, ever waiting. The wait was over.

     Within an instant, the bars which comprised Cell's holding room were destroyed. Cell's cellmates, the tyrant King Cold, his son Frieza and Frieza's soldiers, the Ginyu Force stood up shocked. Cell simply sat and watched. A dark hooded figure entered the room, in his grasp a minor demon that had attempted to impede his progress. The demon was battered, bloody, and very dead. Cell simply watched as the figure strode forward.

     "Greetings Cell. I am here to offer you a deal." the figure said in a dark voice that made the others in the room frightened.

     Cell sat calmly though and ignored the new arrival.

     "I know that you are angry Cell. I would be too. In fact, I see a great many similarities among us. Both of us are immensely powerful yet both of us have been wronged. My estate was taken from me when lower beings defeated me. Your life was taken from you, as was your freedom. These were both accomplished by lesser beings as well. I know you hunger for revenge as I do." the shrouded figure spoke coldly.

     Cell did not move. Nor did he speak.

     "I believe you'll have to deal with us stranger. Cell hasn't spoken in a year. He doesn't even acknowledge us!" King Cold said attempting to hammer out a deal with the entity.

     "You are ignored with good reason. You are nothing. Among you all, only he has true fighting sprit." the entity spoke

     "You will hold your tongue creature! Frieza will not be spoken to as such!" Frieza shrieked at the being.

     In an instant the creature's hand forcefully ripped into Frieza's mouth and tore his tongue from his mouth and put it in his hands.

     "Hold your own. Now Cell, I have come a long ways to make this deal. I have gone out of my way to allow you revenge. Will you accept or not?" the figure said again, oblivious to the fact that he was being assaulted with various energy attacks by the other prisoners.

     Cell smirked, "Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta are mine to crush. No one else's. They are MINE."

     "Agreed. You will require more power to deal with them as they have surpassed you. I have that power." the figure said outstretching it's long clawed hand as a black orb appeared in it, "Now take this power and cripple these annoyances."

     "I don't need added power for that." Cell said leaping up in an instant.

     Within seconds the remainder of the Ginyu force were each lying on the floor in states of unconsciousness or were mangled, missing limbs or their spines. Cell then walked over to the tongue-less Frieza and pounded him into the ground relentlessly. He then held Frieza by the neck and smiled at King Cold as he tore his son's skull open, leaving him in eternal pain. They were already dead of course. 

     King Cold looked at Cell's cold smile in fear and began to flee, flying out of the cell as fast as he could. Cell simply used Goku's instant transmission technique and appeared right in front of Cold, sending him to the ground in a bloody heap. Cold wept in pain on the floor, his spine shattered from Cell's angry blow. Cell landed next to the space tyrant and placed his foot on Cold's head.

     "Cell…why? We were your allies! You are made from us! Why?! WE are the closest thing you ever had to family! You're destroying your FAMILY!" Cold pleaded.

     "And I don't care." came Cell's reply in addition to his foot bursting King Cold's head like a melon.

     The shrouded figure clapped as it walked to Cell, the black orb hovering behind it.

     "Such brutality. Such anger. I am pleased." it said

     "They were a means to an end. With your deal they served no further purpose. Still they live." Cell commented at the writhing undead beings on the ground

     "I'll remedy that very soon. Now take your new power!" the figure said as the orb hit Cell and sent energy pouring through the air.

     Cell himself was shocked at how painful it was and knelt in pain. His green skin began to change to a dark black. His body grew in size and mass. His claws extended upon his hands to reaches they had never known. Cell's eyes became a bright green, issuing forth light. After the energy's lightshow had ended, Cell rose. He was larger, stronger, faster, and more evil than he had ever been before.

     "How does it feel to be perfect again, Cell?" the shrouded figure asked

     "No. I am beyond Perfect Cell. I am ULTIMATE CELL!" the monster bellowed

     "Do you know what you must do now?" the figure asked

     "Do you know how long I rotted in that prison cell? Do you know how long I planned what I would do to my enemies? I've always known what I must do and now, I do it." Cell said, instantly transmitting himself out of Hell.

     "Excellent. All goes according to plan. Now then, time for a snack." the figure said glowing with energy as the entire Hell dimension collapsed inwards upon him. The figure laughed in delight as he faded from the now empty Hell dimension, his power skyrocketing even further.


	5. No Win Situations

     "Okay, so you got this image in your head from a big cosmic guy of a weapon that you need to take on this guy that ripped apart your town?"

     "Yeah."

     "And the big cosmic guy…from Star Trek…..put a map in your mind and told you that the weapon was in the Baxter Building, in Reed Richards's lab?"

     "That pretty much sums it up."

     "You're so nuts. I nearly caused the world to be overrun by Skrulls the last time I was at that place!" the young man sitting on the roof said

     "I know, I have the issue." Xander laughed

     "I AM NOT A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER!" the young man roared at Xander

     "Then how do I know you're secretly Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man?" Xander smirked, "Not to mention your feuds with the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, and my personal favorite, the Kingpin of Crime?"

     Peter turned and looked at him.

     "That does sound like a comic book huh?" Peter sighed

     "Yeah. But hey, look at it this way. No clones." Xander replied

     "What's so bad about clones?" Peter asked

     "Don't ask." Xander warned

     "So, how exactly are we supposed to get into the Baxter Building? I mean that place is a fortress and it's not like we can go say "Hello Mr. Richards, I have a guy here who claims to be from another universe. Can we look around you lab for the ultimate weapon" now can we?" Peter replied

     "Well no but come on, we're two geeks! We'll think of something! We have brains, we'll use them!" Xander said waving his hands in the air

     "Yeah like how you used them when you saw me on the street and yelled Spider-Man at me." Peter replied.

     "Well jeez you're just an icon in my universe. I would have said the same thing if I saw Superman. I'm a fanboy." Xander replied

     "And autistic. NIIIIIIIIIIICE cover story." Peter fumed

     "Well you do better. All I know is I need that weapon to go back and help my alternate universe." Xander said again.

     "Yeah, that sounds reasonable. How do I know you're not Dr. Doom?", Peter asked Xander, eyeing him.

     "Hey, you want me to tell your Aunt May about your secret life?" Xander eyed Peter angrily

     "Okay, so we're at an impasse." Peter responded

     "I'll tell Mary Jane you're attracted to Gwen Stacey." Xander smirked

     "Let's go get that weapon." Peter said, spraying a web-line.

     "Cool, I get to go swinging!" Xander cheered

     "How do I get myself into these messes? My life sucks." Peter sighed

     "Hey, at least you aren't a clone." Xander laughed

     "WHAT IS WITH THE CLONE JOKES?!" Peter asked frustrated

     "I'll tell you later. Jeez, why couldn't I just get the mainstream Marvel Universe Spider-Man and not Ultimate Angsty Boy here??" Xander sighed.

     Hercules and Buffy walked down the dirt road.

     "So we almost there?" Buffy asked him

     "Almost." Hercules responded.

     "Okay good. So……what's it like here in Ancient Greece?" Buffy asked

     "It's a struggle. What's it like in future…what did you call it? America?" Hercules asked

     "A struggle. Especially when you have to fight monsters practically everyday. I swear I've fought something almost everyday for the last six years." Buffy rolled her eyes

     "Done that for close to thirty here." Hercules said to her, putting things in perspective.

     "Oh man. Have you ever died?" Buffy asked, suddenly thinking she sounded very stupid for asking such a question

     "No. But I've had friends who have and then returned to life." Hercules smiled, knowing exactly what she meant.

     Buffy laughed. She was beginning to like this guy.

     "There it is." Hercules pointed.

     Buffy looked to see Fort walls with archers on every side watching. They soon shouted to Hercules and opened the gates. Buffy walked in the fort with Hercules and looked around. There weren't just archers and soldiers here. There were families and children. She saw many people who looked very restless and tired

     "Hey Herc." a short blonde man said, "Who's the girl?"

     "Ioulus, this is Buffy. She's the one Q told us about." Hercules said.

     Buffy's head spun.

     "You talked to Q too?" Buffy asked the demigod

     "Yes. He came to me and told me to retrieve the Creation Stone. It's a jewel that when the light of the sun passes through can bind any demon. He told me to retrieve it to fight my greatest enemy. The Hell Lord, Dahak." Hercules said grimly

     "This Dahak guy got loose in Greece before. Heck, he used me to nearly destroy the world." Ioulus mentioned

     "Long story. Q told us that Dahak would be sending his forces to retrieve the Stone, since he himself is still afraid of it. They arrived a short time after our ally Xena disappeared. Those things you fought were only a few of them. Q then told us he was preparing to send another to our reality to retrieve the Stone and kill Dahak. I imagine you're her." Hercules said.

     "I guess so. So, where is the Stone?" Buffy asked

     "Safe." Hercules responded

     "So I guess you'll take me to it?" Buffy asked

     "I honestly don't know." Hercules responded before walking away.

     "HEY! Where are you going?" Buffy screamed

     "Let him go." Ioulus said

     "But, we need the Stone!" Buffy explained

     "Yeah, but so do we. The only reason Dahak hasn't come here himself and wiped away this world, a world that he hates more than any other is because we have that Stone and he's afraid of it. It's what is keeping us alive. The whole world. You take that from us and you kill us all." Ioulus said to her

     "Yeah and if I don't take it then a bunch of other worlds die. Weigh it." Buffy snapped

     "I have and I agree with you. It's just that Hercules…..Herc is an idealist. He keeps hoping that there is another way. He doesn't want to see anymore people die anywhere. He just thinks there has to be another way." Ioulus said again

     "I know where he's coming from but he's got to see that if he doesn't give me the Stone, then Dahak won't be stopped. You might even lose it as it is! If those forces Dahak has sent here are powerful enough, then they will try to attack this fort anytime." Buffy reasoned

     "They have attacked us. We've held them back. Barely. The bulk of their forces are in the East battling the armies of Chin, warriors who use some type of energy to fight. Like the gods. Last we heard though, they were defeated and our enemies were on their way back here. Rome, Sparta, even Athens. They've all fallen. In all the world, only we have been able to hold them off. Because we have people willing to fight to the death and beyond to protect that Stone. We have people who remember Dahak's lies. I should know. I'm one of them who bought into them years back. But most of all, we're still alive because we have Hercules. No one else can help us. Not the Chin, not the gods, just him. I might agree with you in principle, but I can't go against the man who's saved my soul ten times over. I can't go against my best friend's wishes, no matter my beliefs." Ioulus explained

     "He has to give us the Stone. He has to." Buffy said angrily

     "He doesn't have to do anything. He's Hercules." Ioulus said to her.

     Buffy just looked at Ioulus and walked away after Hercules. She intended to give him a piece of her mind. He entered a building and she followed. She was about to shout at him from across the room when she noticed that the room was full of children.

     "It's Hercules!" one shouted

     "Tell us a story Hercules!" a young girl said crawling into his lap as he sat down.

     "Alright, how about the time I killed the Hydra?" Hercules smiled

     "No, we've heard that one a lot. Tell us about how you saved the world from freezing!" another child said, sitting down

     "Tell us about the time you squeezed the sea serpent's heart!"

     "No! Tell us about the time you fought Ares!"

     "Which time?" Hercules laughed.

     Watching him, Buffy realized that she couldn't chew him out for his reluctance in front of the children. She would however chew him out. Not just yet.  Buffy walked outside and sat down, looking at all these primitive people.

     "Hello pretty lady, care for a little company?" a suave voice asked.

     Buffy turned to its owner. He was a tall handsome, dark haired man with black hair, a mustache and a cocky grin.

     "And you are? Ulysses? Achilles?" Buffy asked remembering Greek names

     "No my dear girl, I am Autolycus, the King of Thieves. Perhaps you've heard of me. I've quite the reputation." Autolycus said stroking his mustache

     "Nope." Buffy said turning from him

     "Then let me bring you up to speed." Autolycus said sitting down beside her, growing very annoying. This wasn't going to be easy.

     Things were not easy for Angel. The night was almost over and he was tied down in the middle of the desert. A few vampires, presided over by Mr. Trick were tormenting him.

     "Ya know, it really would have been pretty damn easy just to join up with the Master. You'd have the run of the world, that fine chick Darla, and the chance to get rid of that pesky curse of yours once and for all. Really sucks that you're in this position." Trick laughed kicking Angel's side

     "I'll tell you the same thing I told the Master, Trick. I'd rather burn." Angel growled showing his vampire features

     "And you will once that sun comes up. Don't worry about us though. We have some shelter. The Master will be okay too you know. Once he and the others get to Los Angeles, they can just hide in the rubble and then when night falls, its party time. Pity you won't be a part of that." Trick smiled, "I'll take good care of Darla though. And your kid that she told me about. I'll make damn sure he has a good father figure. That is before I suck his little veins dry."

     "Now I hate to hear that. So little love of family these days. Our morals seemed to disappear when Happy Days ended." came a booming voice.

     Trick looked over and saw the Mayor coil up and look down on him.

     "Mayor Wilkins?" Trick asked confused

     "Yes. The Ascension went off with out a hitch Trick. Except, I died. Oh well. Who hasn't died at least once these days?" the huge snake hissed and laughed

     "Well I guess all the crap came up out of the Hellmouth once it blew." Angel said to the Mayor. The Mayor's head moved down and looked at Angel tied to the stakes in the ground.

     "Nice to see you too. How's your whore? Oh that's right. The Hellmouth exploded and took Sunnydale with it. Oh well, no more terms there." The Mayor growled

     "So, what are you going to do Mr. Mayor?" Trick said somewhat nervous.

     "Well, I have big plans. I'm thinking about becoming Mayor of L.A. Sound good boys?" the Mayor asked.

     "Might be an improvement." Angel muttered.

     "Well, we're with you sir." Trick said trying to marshal his vampires with him, out of pure fear at the gigantic creature in front of them.

     "No. You see I heard from a little stitched together demon that you joined up with the Master. Switching sides, tsk tsk tsk. And it's not even time for elections. I'm afraid I'm a bit hungry Trick." The Mayor said striking at Trick and gulping him down whole so as not to leave that bad, dusty after taste.

     The other vampires ran and the Mayor likewise devoured them. He then turned his attentions to Angel.

     "Comfy?" The Mayor asked.

     "A little." Angel replied keeping his composure.

     "Good. I like my meals to be comfortable. Until I kill them that is." the Mayor grinned

     "So…I guess you don't want to know about Faith then." Angel smiled

     "FAITH?! Where is she?! Answer me!" the Mayor asked. His memories flooded back to the dark Slayer that had been like a daughter to him.

     "Give me time to answer. She's in L.A. Course you don't know where. I do. I'll take you to her." Angel said

     "You just want to stop the Master." the Mayor said

     "So do you." Angel replied

     "How do I know you aren't lying about Faith?" the Mayor reasoned

     "I'm one of the good guys, remember? You want to find Faith or not?" Angel said.

     The Mayor's tongue whipped out and destroyed Angel's bonds.

     "Don't push your luck." The Mayor said

     "I won't. Umm, I hate to ask this….but I need a place to kind of…stay. Sun coming up and all." Angel said standing up

     The Mayor sighed and opened his mouth.

     "Climb in. Just don't get any ideas." the Mayor said.

     Angel just shuddered and climbed in.

     Spike just ran and ducked for cover. Explosions darted the landscape behind him. He didn't know where he was. It was night, of that he was certain. It also seemed certain he wound up on a battlefield.

     "Like bloody WWII!" he said before being thrown into the air by an explosion. He hit his head and was slightly dazed. He could still make out the red and blue flashes in the air above him. He thought he heard the roar of jets too. He looked up and saw two figures staring down at them. They were wearing some kind of armor and visors that glowed.

     "So what's this thing?" one said

     "Stupid flesh bag. Got caught in the crossfire." the other said kicking Spike in the ribs. Spike growled in pain and shot up with amazing speed revealing his vampiric face.

     "Okay boys, I know how it is to hit someone when they're down. I kinda like it, but not when it's me!" Spike said punching one.

     He immediately felt pain. At first he thought it was the chip. But then he realized it was his hand, not his head that hurt. He watched his opponent not even move.

     "So the ugly fleshbag wants to play huh? Well let's play with him Frenzy!" the being swung his fist sending Spike flying.

     "Yeah Rumble. Let's…what do they say? KICK HIS ASS!" the other cackled. Spike tried to stand up and was immediately beaten down again. Spike growled.

     "Q sends me to a place where I can hit things, but I get my arse kicked. I don't think so!" Spike roared with a burst of adrenalin.

     His sheer strength threw the two attackers off. They were surprised. Spike followed up by leaping into the air and kicking the one called Frenzy. The one called Rumble approached him, but Spike used his own momentum to throw him over. Frenzy leapt at Spike again but Spike avoided him with his superior speed. Then the earth shook. Rumble was up…and his arms had become pile drivers. Spike and Frenzy both began to stumble.

     "Damn it Rumble! You're knocking me off balance!" Frenzy said falling.

     He dropped something. It was a gun. Spike instantly dove for it and fired on Rumble. A red burst erupted from the barrel of the gun and Rumble slumped backwards. Spike then smirked and turned to the fallen Frenzy.

     "You know what I said about kinda liking hitting people when they're down?" Spike smiled.

     Frenzy slowly nodded.

     "I lied." Spike smiled warmly.

     Relief washed over Frenzy's face.

     "I love it.", Spike laughed blasting Frenzy.

     Spike then turned and began to run, but heard loud sounds. Like an elephant charging. Through the smoke of the battlefield he saw a large form approaching. It was huge, at least twenty feet tall. It was man shaped and was dark blue. Spike instinctively fired on it. It stopped briefly as it was struck by the blaster. It then just cocked its head and Spike fell in agony. Piercing sounds came everywhere. He didn't even have time to consider that the sounds were from the giant.

     "Rumble. Frenzy. Arise." the giant said in a loud monotone voice. Rumble and Frenzy got up.

     "Stupid flesh bag. It caught us off guard Soundwave. We swear." Rumble explained to the giant.

     Soundwave seemed more interested in the fallen Spike. He carefully analyzed him with his visual receptors, mapping out entire systems of the vampire's fallen body.

     "The being is dead, yet is alive." Soundwave said sounding puzzled, "Readouts indicate that the body contains a virus that in effect could alter the body chemistries of humans. Megatron may have use for this."

     Soundwave bent over and scooped up the prone form of Spike.

     "We have the Energon we came for. Fall back!" a jet seemingly said as it roared over head. Soundwave leapt into the air followed by the smaller forms of Rumble and Frenzy. On the ground where they had been, more mechanical giants fired on them. The largest of them seemed to groan at the escape. He waved off his soldiers from firing.

     "Autobots withdraw." he said turning. Another large one approached.

     "But Prime, they're getting away!" he yelled

     "Hold on Ironhide. Our first obligation is to help the humans." the great Optimus Prime said pointing to the ruins of the small town near the electrical plant that the Decepticon raid had nearly destroyed.


	6. Little Bit of Cell, Little Bit of Hell

     Trunks sat and drank his soda while talking to Dawn. They were waiting for the others to arrive before setting out to find the Dragonballs.

     "I swear. It was so cool. She just beat the demon down in our basement with a pipe." Dawn exclaimed.

     "The flooded basement?" Trunks asked

     "Yeah. It was so cool." Dawn giggled, "Though it's not as cool as that story about how you and Goten entered that tournament as a one person."

     "We were kids. We did crazy things." he smiled at her, "I look back and realize how much of a cocky little brat I was."

     Vegeta looked in at them from the balcony.

     "Children. Humph, where is Kakkarot? I swear he's the only person I know that can be anywhere instantly but still takes time to get there. Probably trying to get his sons out of their rooms studying. I swear…..if I were him I would not take that…type of harassment from my……..wife. What is that?" Vegeta thought to himself.

     In this universe, most beings can be detected by power levels. The more powerful you are, the easier your presence can be felt. Vegeta is one of the more powerful creatures on the planet……and he has been overwhelmed by the intensity of this power level. Inside, Trunks stopped what he was saying and immediately stood up and walked to the balcony with Dawn right behind him, wondering what was wrong. In an instant, another man teleported on the balcony. He was a bit taller than either Vegeta or Trunks and had another mop of tangled hair on his head.

     "Goku!" Trunks shouted when he appeared. Goku looked out over the horizon with Vegeta.

     "Good of you to show up Kakkarot." Vegeta said to him, calling him by his Saiyen name.

     "Do you feel that…power?" Goku asked

     "Yes, I do. It's more energy than I've ever felt before. What can it be?" Vegeta asked.

     Goku suddenly seemed to catch something in his line of sight. An instant later and he was up in the air, his black hair turning blonde. He was in his Super Saiyen form and he immediately fired a huge blast of energy. It connected with the mountain that had just been flung at them. Vegeta was soon in the air as well, likewise turned Super Saiyen, blasting a small plateau to dust. More and more chunks of rock came hurling at them and each time they were destroyed by the two warriors. And all this had happened in a few seconds. Dawn was flabbergasted.

     "What's going on?" she asked before screaming at a blast shattering a mountain. Rubble fell to the streets below crushing some people.

     "Oh no. Those people! Dad and Goku are stopping those mountains from connecting with the city, but whatever pieces they get blasted into are still big enough to cause major damage!" Trunks exclaimed.

     "What can throw mountains?" Dawn screamed as another explosion rang out.

     Bulma ran into the room screaming.

     "What's going on?!" she demanded

     "Nothing good. Mom you and Dawn get out of here. I need to help dad and Goku." Trunks said

     "But Trunks!" Dawn exclaimed

     "No buts honey, we need to get out of here." Bulma said dragging Dawn by the arm. Dawn broke free and kissed Trunks passionately. He returned it.

     "You come back to me." Dawn said

     "Count on it." Trunks said smirking and rocketing into the sky. He too had gone Super Saiyen and was deflecting the smeller debris as it came. Bulma grabbed Dawn and they both ran to an exit.

     "Where are we going?" Dawn asked

     "To one of my personal jets. We're going to find the Dragonballs ourselves. God knows we'll need them after today." Bulma responded

     Outside Goku, Vegeta and Trunks were giving it their all to destroy the debris as it flew towards them. Vegeta roared as he incinerated a huge mountainside. Then the debris stopped coming.

     "What?!" Vegeta asked, surprised.

     "Maybe they ran out of mountains. Hopefully." Trunks said swallowing.

     Goku scanned the horizon. His eyes got huge when he looked in the distance and saw who exactly was responsible for the mountains.  And he was coming right at them.

     "Vegeta! It's Cell!" came his warning as Vegeta turned, only to be slapped away over the horizon.

    Cell then smiled at Goku. Goku charged up and fired multiple ki bolts at Cell. Cell just yawned and they simply diffused as they left Goku's hands. Trunks then tried to attack Cell by brute force and was caught by the throat.

     "Hmm. Thought I killed you. Well, you won't be resurrected this time around." Cell said applying pressure to Trunks' throat.

     Goku rushed Cell and hit him with a flurry of punches and kicks, hundreds per second. Cell simply smiled and began to crush Trunks' throat. Trunks was finding it very hard to breathe. His golden hair began to return to its original purple as Goku valiantly tried to break Cell's grip on the boy. Goku then quickly grabbed Trunks and managed to teleport him out of Cell's grasp. They both reappeared on the ground.

     "Are you okay?" Goku asked the coughing Trunks.

     "I'm good." Trunks tried to say without coughing. He immediately changed his opinion of his welfare when blood was coughed up.

     "Get out of here. Cell seems even stronger than the last time he and I fouAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Goku roared in pain as Cell teleported above him and drove his foot down on top of his head, putting Goku into the ground like a spike being driven into it. Cell then landed and looked at Trunks.

     "Hmmm. You obviously aren't the brat from the future. You must be his current incarnation. Oh well. A dead Saiyen is a dead Saiyen." Cell smiled, powering up a killing blast.

     "Yeah. Well judging from that sonic boom, I'd say you're about to feel a world of hurt." Trunks smiled.

     A second later Vegeta plowed into Cell with all the force his frame could muster. Cell was not moved. Goku erupted from the ground and instantly uppercutted Cell with as much force as he could. Cell didn't flinch. In that next instant all three were upon him. Cell only smiled as his energy built and the three were easily thrown into the next county. Cell was with them when they landed. An elbow sent Trunks down, blood dripping from the back of his head. Vegeta roared in anger, but was silenced when all the air was driven from his lungs by a punch to the stomach. Vegeta fell. Goku was then tossed into him.

     "Childish. Is this as far as you have come? You are nothing to me, as ever was the case. I've waited so long for this. I'm holding back just to savor this. For now anyway. I suppose you're wondering how I'm back. Well, I was granted a boon in the underworld. I came back to inflict as much pain as I could on your families as I could. And Goku, I learned of your resurrection long ago. Word of something like that travels fast in the underworld. I'm going to torture you slowly. But none will be tortured more slowly than your son Gohan. His death will be most painful. Now then, do you have anything to say? Vegeta, any diatribes on how you're so much more powerful than anyone? Well, speak up." Cell laughed. Goku and Vegeta just looked at one another and nodded. They then cupped their hands.

        "KAAAAAA…ME………HA…..ME………HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku roared firing a huge, blue bolt of energy at Cell

     "GALAC GUN!" Vegeta roared firing bolts of his own at Cell.

     Using his own energy as a shield, Cell actually batted away the massive Kamehameha wave Goku had fired. He then easily avoided all of Vegeta's blasts as well.

     "My turn. TRI BEAM!" Cell said as he fired an intense wave of energy that knocked both Goku and Vegeta off of their feet and sent them flying backwards ripping up the landscape.

     "And that was an attack from one of your infinitely weaker allies, Tien. Imagine what I could do with a destructo disk or a kamehameha or a…"

     "SPIRAL BEAM!" a loud voice rang out as a yellow blast of energy nailed Cell in the back.

     It didn't harm him, but it did merit his attention. He turned and saw the green skinned Namek called Piccolo standing there.

     "Even you are an idiot Piccolo. To think that you would even attempt to stop me on your own borders on the absurd." Cell scoffed.

     "He's not alone." said a young man dropping from the sky. He looked to be in his early twenties. He could only be…..Gohan. And in the sky was more help. Krillin, Android 18, Yamcha, Tien, Chaozhu, Videl, and Goten. In the distance Cell could see ground forces amassing.

     "We all felt you Cell. And now we're all here to stop you." Piccolo growled.

     "Then stop me." Cell smirked

     "So I was all "Hey! I let you out of your bottle now grant my wishes!" She smartened up and did what she was told to do then." Autolycus smirked

     "Craptacular." Buffy sighed.

     It was getting dark and Hercules was still talking to those kids. And she was forced to listen to Autolycus go on and on. He was handsome, but very conceited. Buffy just listened, sighed and looked at her watch. It said six AM. Yet it was dark here.

     "Damn alternate universes and time zones."

     That's when the bell sounded. Ioulus was ringing it frantically. Autolycus looked up at him.

     "Oh no." he muttered

     "What is it?" Buffy asked

     "Trouble." Autolycus replied. Hercules shot out of the hut where the children were and yelled up.

     "Ioulus?!" Hercules asked

     "Orcs! A lot of them too! Hundreds, maybe thousands!" Ioulus screamed.

     "How far?!" Hercules asked

     "Judging from the lay of the land, a little under five miles!" Ioulus added

     "Not good. They'll be here in a few minutes. ARCHERS! GET TO YOUR POSITIONS! Everyone else take up arms! We have to protect the children and the women! We have to protect the stone!" Hercules yelled

     Buffy ran to a ladder and climbed up it to the top of the wall where Ioulus stood. She looked out and in the distance, they were coming. So many she couldn't count. They covered the landscape like ants and they were coming closer. She tensed and knew that they could not win this fight without a miracle. On the ground, various warriors were consulting Hercules.

     "WE cannot fight that many Orcs, Hercules. We can barely hold this fort to a few. We have to go!" one said

     "Yes, we can take the Stone with us. We'll keep it safe on the run!" another added

     "Don't you get it? We can't outrun Orcs! We can't keep the Stone safe outside the confines of the fort!" Hercules said

     "But we have to leave! We can't win! Hercules we have to run!" still another said.

     This display was making Buffy sick. She had had enough and was about to give those cowards a piece of her mind. She breathed in deeply and let it all out. 

     "WELL GO AHEAD AND RUN! RUN HOME TO MOMMA! ME, I'M STAYING!" Buffy roared on top the wall.

     They all looked up at her. She was the very image of Xena. Hercules smiled.

     "Are all women from your world as brash as you?" Hercules asked

     "Just me baby, just me." Buffy responded

     "Hmm. That's a good line. I'm going to write that down." Autolycus thought

     Hercules climbed the ladder and met Buffy at the top.

     "How good are you with a bow?" Hercules asked

     "Good enough." she responded

     "Ioulus. Get her some weaponry." Hercules said.

     "You don't have enough arrows to put them down." Buffy said

     "No. We don't" Hercules added

     "Do you have any catapults?" Buffy asked

     "No. We have me." Hercules said leaping over the side of the wall to where several large rocks were sitting.

     Buffy watched as he picked up boulder after boulder and threw them towards the advancing Orcs. Buffy could see, even from such a far distance, that the rocks were having and immediate effect.

     "How's that doing?"

     "Great. I can see some of them scattering. Their torches are going everywhere. Looks like some more are coming with a lot more torches." Buffy said down to Hercules.

     Hercules leapt upwards and Buffy was amazed as he actually climbed the wall. He got back to where she was and looked out over the horizon.

     "Wish we had more rocks." Hercules said to her.

     "It's really getting bright back there." Buffy said

     "Those are awfully big torches." Hercules said with a hint of dread.

     Indeed, miles away the Orcs led by the powerful Lurtz and the insidious creature known as the Creeper were feeling the effects of Hercules' bombardment.

     "Kill the wounded. We may need rations." Lurtz barked out crudely.

     "Hercules was undoubtedly responsible." the Creeper said to Lurtz

     "All he did was make us madder." Lurtz growled.

     "So what do you plan on doing now?" Creeper asked

     "We kill them." Lurtz reasoned

     "What a plan." the Creeper sarcastically said

     "We kill them…..with our friend." Lurtz smiled sickeningly as a huge figure walked up behind them.

     It was thirty feet tall and its body glowed with the orange hue of fire. It stepped on any Orcs foolish enough to be in its way. It roared loudly and Hercules heard it all the way at the Fort.  

     "By the gods. They brought the Balrog." He said


	7. To Kill A Balrog

     A universe away, the dark robed figure that freed Cell from his prison, the hell lord known as Dahak walked through a government complex completely invisible and undetectable to the humans around him.

     "How delicious. The negativity. The greed. It spreads to all stations in life. These "guardians" are no different than other humans. Base, vile, weak." Dahak said with a dark smirk beneath his robes

     "Yes. They are rather despicable." another voice said to Dahak

     "No, no, no, you misunderstand me. I like humans. Those qualities are desirable. They are the things that make humans like us. Of course, the spirit can be nauseatingly pure. Even the darkest heart contains some love, some compassion; some qualities that I wish were not so close to the surface. You see that's why I need you Moloch. You have interesting properties, merging with machines and the like. With you here and with an army, you could make at least this pitiful world a bit more like what I'd want it to be." Dahak smiled

     "No Slayer on this world to stop me." the bodiless demon, Moloch said remembering his defeat at Buffy's hands.

     "No. But there are threats. Mutants, humans with powers, and even some gods exist here. They're much more powerful than the Slayer. However, you'll have an army." Dahak smiled as he and Moloch stopped in a room where huge robots were being manufactured by the oblivious humans.

     They were called Sentinels.

     "Will they get the job done?" Moloch asked of the giant machines.

     "Controlled properly, yes. Though they can be dismantled with ease by some of the higher ups. However, I think there's a body a few miles south of here that would be more fitting to fight the super humans. It's being created by one after all. Once you interface with the computers here in this factory and activate the Sentinels, you can then take up permanent residence within said body. With complete control of the Sentinels and a few nuclear missiles of course. Make this world a Hell, Moloch. Make it burn and make the humans become animals. Make them embrace me. And it may be of interest to you that you may get a fair share of retribution on the Slayer." Dahak smiled

     "What do you mean?" Moloch asked of Dahak.

     "Well, the Slayer herself is not on this world. But one of her friends, the human Xander, is. I take it that will be an added incentive?" Dahak laughed

     "Very much so. I'll take great pleasure in destroying him. Then I want the Slayer. And the redhead." Moloch scowled

     "Perhaps if there's anything left of them by then. Until that day comes, please take pleasure in this world I've given you to whip into shape. Now I take my leave. Good day." Dahak said

     "Wait! My new body! Where is it?" Moloch asked as he prepared to download within the computer systems that controlled the Sentinels

     "Oh yes. It's at some compound in New York City. Some group called the Ultimates operate there." Dahak said departing.

     "RAAAAAAAAAAARH!" Piccolo roared as he slammed into the ground.

     He was then stomped horribly in the chest. His healing factor took care of that though. However, he was stomped again and again causing unbearable pain. Cell simply smiled.

     "You know, that Namek healing factor that we share is most useful but at the same time can cause so much pain doesn't it Piccolo?", Cell laughed

     "Leave him alone!" Gohan roared as he hit Cell repeatedly in the face.

     "Gohan….sit down. I'm not ready to deal with you yet." Cell said slapping Gohan across the country.

     "Gohan!" Piccolo screamed right before Cell stomped him again.

     Cell laughed in delight as he punished the Namek. Artillery fire opened on Cell. From a distance he could see the military ground forces approaching. With a mere wave of his hand, Cell wiped them from the face of the earth.

     Goku roared and slammed into Cell's lower back. Vegeta charged him from the side grabbing his arm, twisting in such a way he sought to break it. This gave Piccolo the leverage he needed and he grabbed Cell's legs. Cell laughed and snapped his arm forward, slamming Vegeta into the downed Piccolo. He then turned and kicked Goku away. But the sacrifice was not in vain. Vegeta had grabbed Piccolo and flown off with him, taking him to safety. Goku then smiled and unleashed a Kamehameha on Cell.     Another one fired from across the county. Gohan.

     From above, numerous ki bolts rained down on Cell. A Galac Gun blast and spiral beam was issued forth from Vegeta and Piccolo respectively. Dust flew into the air and the bolts of energy kept coming. The area was blanketed as immense explosions thundered. Cell floated high above the scene watching with amusement. He wasn't even down there when he fired.

     "So tell me, have you got him yet?" Cell laughed. The stunned warriors looked up at Cell.

     "Yes that's right. I'm faster than I've ever been. Not that I couldn't take those blasts. I just want to have fun. SOLAR FLARE!" Cell shouted as a burst of light issued forth and blinded the warriors.

     Yamcha had managed to shield his eyes though. Of course he wished he had been blinded once he saw Cell approach him. Below Yamcha, the three eyed warrior Tien felt warm rain fall on him…and then something heavier hit his shoulder. When the haze that had blinded him cleared, he saw that he was bathed in blood. And some of Yamcha's innards were on his shoulder. Cell smiled and dropped the disemboweled warrior to the ground. He then was face to face with Tien.

     "You know, I've always wondered why you kept that third eye. Is it really that helpful? It just makes you look like more of a freak. Allow me to fix it for you." Cell smiled. Tien screamed in pain as Cell's finger entered the third eye of his forehead and began to move around inside it.

     Tien immediately blasted Cell but to no avail. Cell still was in front of him. Cell then smirked cruelly and a blast issued from the finger in Tien's head and exited the back of his head.

     Android 18 was upon Cell then attacking him furiously. Her husband Krillin was behind him powering up his own attack, the Destructo Disk.

     "18, it's been a while. Tell me; do you miss the days when you were inside me? I must say this I found it rather intimate. We made a good team. You gave me power and I…..well it wasn't exactly a fair partnership was it? It's been nice chatting with you though. Goodbye." Cell said teleporting away from her.

     Android 18 then felt extreme pain as Krillin's Destructo Disk, meant for Cell, sliced into her as he disappeared from in front of her. Krillin screamed as she was cut in two. Cell teleported behind him and was ready to end it, when Goku charged into Cell.

     "NO MORE CELL! NO MORE!" Goku said angrier than he had ever been before.

     He had seen friends slaughtered and now his energy level was rising to higher levels. He actually caused Cell to bleed slightly from his lip. Cell scowled and threw Goku out of the atmosphere.

     "Oh yes. Much more." Cell smiled

     "What's a Balrog?" Buffy asked Hercules

     "A huge demon. I've only heard tales of it destroying Persian Armies. It would appear they were accurate." Hercules replied as the forest was aglow

     "So what do we do Herc?" Ioulus said, looking at his closest friend.

     "Get the women and children out of here. We might have held off just the Orcs, but not the Balrog too." Hercules replied

     "Hercules, I don' think there's time. The really ugly guys are getting closer." Buffy yelled.

     Hercules looked at the orange lit forest and saw the Orcs approaching. Even more clearly than Buffy did because she was just a Slayer whereas he was a demigod. Where Buffy saw shadows dancing against the warm glow of the Balrog's presence, Hercules saw all the horror with crystal clarity. Yellow eyes, teeth gnashing, curved swords, it was a nightmare come to life. And behind all these Orcs was something far worse. Hercules saw it and he did despair. He knew fear as the immense fire demon set the forest ablaze with mere steps. Hercules saw death looming. There was one chance and one only.

     "Fight.", Hercules again ordered, lifting a spear.

     Buffy lifted a bow as did Ioulus and fifty other bowmen. The skies rained drops of wood and metal. Orcs screamed in pain and in anger. And they returned in kind. Arrows flew back to the fortress. Many fell short but the closer the Orcs got, the more successful the shots. For the most part the shots were sloppy and did no damage. But then again they didn't have to. All that was needed was to send wave after wav of Orc upon the fortress until the Balrog arrived. And then there would be no fortress.

     Hercules threw another spear and met with the same results as last time. Orcs were injured and dying. They were covered in arrows and howled in agony. Some began to climb the fortress walls only to be riddled with still more arrows or stabbed as they reached the top. More attacked. Wave after wave. Arrows grew scarce. Beads of sweat ran down Buffy's face. Hercules cursed under his breath when he had no more spears. Ioulus looked grim.

     Bowmen fell either shot full of arrows or skewered with the swords of climbing Orcs. Swordsmen inside the fortress shook and trembled as the Orcs pressed against the gates seeking entrance. Women held their children close and wept. And still after the battle had raged for a half an hour, Orcs kept coming. But they stopped abruptly and suddenly. Lurtz himself was on the front lines with the Creeper landing next to him both ordering a halt. The forest was aflame and despite the roaring crackling sound the air was still. 

     "Great. A Mexican standoff." Buffy said wiping her forehead.

     " Huh? What are they waiting for?", Ioulus asked

     "They're just going to watch now. Everyone off the wall!" Hercules roared, "Autolycus. The box you stole. Get it."

     Autolycus scrambled down the ladder and into the huts within the fortress walls. Hercules stood ready. He looked at Ioulus and Buffy and it was a hard look. A look of steel. He nodded and lifted one last spear and threw it as a javelin in a final act of defiance. An approaching Orc scout was skewered

    And as he did his eye's corner caught it. The great fire demon walked out of the forest. An immense plume of flame in the shape of a sword in its hand. It roared and when it did flames leapt and danced off of its devilish form.

     "Hercules!" Autolycus yelled at the base of the fortress wall.

     Hercules looked down at him and the King of Thieves immediately threw a small box up to the man-god. Hercules instantly ripped the box open and held its contents. They had a chance. He raised the object top his lips and bit. This was their only hope. And the sword of flame wielded by the Balrog exploded downwards destroying the wall. Autolycus rolled from the base of the wall with only hairs singed white on his head. Ioulus and Buffy both fell from the wall and onto the hard ground inside the fortress. Ioulus groaned and grabbed his leg while Buffy was up only a moment later, watching the sword rise again.

     Not all souls were as fortunate as these. Many bowmen fell to the opposite side and were instantly beset and buried under Orc warriors like army ants. A few even fell upon the Balrog and were naught but ash a moment later. And Hercules… Hercules had taken the full brunt on the sword. No man, even a demigod could survive such a strike.

     And Hercules stood slowly. No man could survive the strike. But a god could. The ambrosia Autolycus had stolen was a blessing. He had eaten it just a split second before being struck and that act had saved his life. Energy pulsated about Hercules as he looked at the Balrog, no longer in fear but in anger. The Balrog itself cocked its head in wonder. Never before had anything short of a powerful wizard survived the edge of his blade. He struck again, but Hercules was gone; faded into a white glow and reappeared behind the demon.

     And he unleashed a great burst of energy into the air blinding foe and friend alike. The Balrog looked at his bolt and laughed in its throat. He needed to work on his aim. The Balrog swung at the godling again. Hercules merely teleported again and was now high above the demon floating in the air. As the son of Zeus he had access to the powers of the sky. He pooled his mystic energies and those of the natural elements and created an immense blast of lightning infused with magicks.

     The Balrog went to one knee and roared in anger. Sword became whip and the stream of fire struck out for Hercules. Hercules again teleported and was mere inches from the face of the Balrog. He pooled his powers again and the lightning struck the beast in the face at point blank range this time. The Balrog fell back onto some unfortunate Orcs incinerating them. It sat up groggily and growled at the Olympian. And then its eyes turned to the skies. There was a glow about it as if hundreds of fireflies danced in it. Then he was knocked back again but an immense hammer that was hurled from one of the distant fireflies. A moment later, a rugged man in sheepskins with a horned helmet retrieved his hammer. Hercules smiled.

     "Good to see you Thor." he said

     Thor merely grunted and stamped his hammer on the ground summoning a great storm. Now the power of lightning times two was directed at the Balrog and he was sent tumbling back into the forest. Soon other "fireflies" appeared and cut down the Orcish army with spears, swords and bolts of energy. Hercules and Thor were soon joined in their efforts by a tall handsome man summoning harsh light against the Balrog. The great demon was faltering, rocked by the lightning and pierced by the light of Balder the Brave.

     The storm Thor had created grew ever more powerful. The rains and winds stopped the blazing inferno of the forest and with the other talents of Balder and Hercules were killing the Balrog. The three gods pressed onwards and the light penetrated the great demon which was now screaming. Lurtz roared in defiance but was drowned out by the storm. The Creeper struggled to stay on his feet as the storm grew in intensity. Then when the tempest reached its climax, the Balrog exploded under the divine energies.

     Lurtz was wiped from the face of the earth and the Creeper was torn to shreds and thrown to the air on torn bat wings only to crash to earth again. Orcs were blown away by the blast and those close enough were completely destroyed. In Athens, Sarumon felt the blast and heard the death cry of the Balrog. As soon as the storm came, it departed and the night sky was clear once more. Buffy was blown away by the immense display of power by the three gods.

     "Wow." was all that escaped her lips.

     Balder the Brave sighed out of breath and turned to Hercules who was smiling.

     "Thank you for answering my flare." Hercules said

     "It was an honor old friend." Balder replied.

     And again Thor merely grunted.

     "Umm excuse me?" Buffy spoke up, "But what the frig?"

     "Oh. Buffy this is Balder and Thor. They're gods of the Aesir from the northern lands. Those are the Valkyrie." Hercules said pointing to the shield maidens riding winged horses and skewering the remaining Orcs, "Balder, Thor this is Q's representative from another realm."

     "A pleasure." said Balder, wearing a genuine smile.

     Thor merely grunted again.

     "Nice to see some gods willing to get off their butts and help out. And by the way, OW!" Ioulus yelled while holding his leg

     "What is it with you and breaking limbs?" Hercules smirked

     "Allow me." Balder said walking to Ioulus and letting white light flow out and heal his injuries, "I'll attend to the other wounded."

     "Anything you can do for my hair? Hello?! Well, last time I look to someone named Balder for help with my hair." Autolycus said holding his hand over the white streak.

     "I'm no strategist like Tyr," Thor began, "But now that some gods have actually interfered, won't Dahak himself step in? The wizard in his employ should be trying to summon him as we speak."

     "Wow. He speaks." Buffy snidely remarked.

     "And he's right. When Dahak first sent his forces here, he made a mandate that if any gods would interfere they would be destroyed. I broke that mandate in becoming a god and in summoning the Aesir." Hercules stated.

     "Well he can't take an entire pantheon of gods right?" Autolycus asked

     "He did before." Hercules said grimly

     "But this Creation Stone thingy can stop him right?" Buffy asked

     "It can bind him for a while. The only problem is that we both need it Buffy. I honestly haven't reached a solution on that yet. I want to give it to you so that it can be used to stop Dahak, but I don't want my world to die." Hercules said to the young Slayer.

     "Perhaps you won't need it." Balder called over, "The Paints of Destiny could be used to at least delay Dahak's advance."

     "The whats of what?" Buffy asked raising an eyebrow

     "A few years ago Balder and Thor's brother Loki used these paints that could alter reality after you painted a picture of what you wanted with them. He wanted to rule the Northern lands. Luckily I stopped him and put things as they were. I hadn't even given them a second thought." Hercules explained

     "But if this Dahak has gotten so much more powerful…." Buffy began

     "They won't keep him out indefinitely but they could buy us some time to figure out what to do with the Stone. Thor, would you?" Hercules said turning to the thunder god.

     "I'll get them. But I'm not your errand boy Olympian." Thor growled before slamming his hammer to the ground and disappearing in a shower of lightning.

     "Well, he's gotten more pleasant." Hercules smirked before turning to Buffy, "Now do you want to debate where the Stone should go?"

     Buffy was deep in thought before looking at Hercules, Ioulus, and Autolycus.

    "These Paints of Destiny can basically do anything right?" she asked.

    "They can alter reality and possibly hold Dahak out." Hercules replied, "But the Creation Stone is what Dahak fears."

    "So they can do almost anything?" Buffy replied.

    Hercules nodded, "Yes, that's what I just said."

    "So…then they could make a copy of the Creation Stone for this world, when I can take the original as a weapon?" Buffy said.

    Hercules, Ioulus, and Autolycus all paused…and looked at each other…and had confused looks on their faces.

    "Yeah….I uh…suppose so." Hercules said, "I had uh…never thought of it that way."

    Buffy smirked.

    "Well, we call that 21st century thinking." Buffy said, "No wonder Q sent me here."


	8. Come The Apocalypse

     Across the universes, Cell was having his way. Piccolo was slammed into the ground and had a hole blasted into him. Cell used Vegeta as a bat and slammed him into Goku. Gohan tried attacking from behind only to be savagely head butted by the turning Cell. Nearby, Krillin watched in horror as he and Goten tended to the injured Trunks.

     "This is insane. Cell was NEVER this powerful." Krillin said wide-eyed in fear.

     "Dad and Gohan can beat him though right Krillin? Right?" the fifteen year old Goten said gulping.

     "Kid, a couple of years ago I would have said they could. Now, I'm not so sure." Krillin said closing his eyes remembering 18 getting sheared in half. A hand then touched Krillin's shoulder. It was Videl, Gohan's girlfriend.

     "Krillin, we have to get out of here. We're sitting ducks. If Gohan and the rest can't defeat him, what chance do we have?" she asked.

     "Absolutely none." Cell said smirking and striding towards them.

     Krillin roared in defiance.

     "DESTRUCTO DISK!" Krillin said sending the razor sharp disk of energy at Cell.

     As it had done years before, the disk had no effect. Cell smiled and kept coming.

     Goten instantly went Super Saiyen and charged Cell, only to be grabbed by the throat.

     "Oh look. Another half Saiyen to strangle to death. What are the odds?" Cell said as he squeezed.

     Goten tried to scream in pain. Videl, Krillin, and even the injured Trunks were upon him in a second. A second later they were all lying on the ground with broken bones as Cell smiled and kept squeezing Goten's throat.

     "FUSION!"

     A light flashed and Cell turned to see that Goku and Vegeta had merged into Vegetto, a more powerful form than either of the two were separately. Piccolo, completely outclassed and horribly injured, stood at Vegetto's side refusing to back down.

     "Is this supposed to impress me?" Cell asked

     "No. Kill you." Vegetto replied instantly transmitting to Goten and then transmitting him away…..with Cell's arm.

     "Oh. The pain. The pain of it all." Cell laughed as his arm instantly regenerated.

     Vegetto charged Cell with murder in his eyes. He struck Cell with extreme force and actually made the monster back up. Cell looked surprised and then smiled before returning in kind. Vegetto was knocked flat on his ass. He then shot up with a kick to Cell's face that carried him up completely vertically. Cell was then in the air with Vegetto and struck Vegetto's eye with his palm.

     The eye swelled and bled but Vegetto refused to stop and started to respond in kind to Cell. Cell smiled again as his caught the palm strike and crushed Vegetto's hand. That's when Vegetto brought up his other hand an unleashed a wave of energy so intense it actually made Cell release him grip and then slammed him into the ground. Cell sat up instantly. Vegetto flew down at top speed only to be caught in a headlock.

     "You know, I had rather hoped you'd be more of a challenge. You took what I gave you and even tried to give it back. Impressive, but still boring." Cell said as Vegetto began to instantly transmit out of his grip. Cell simply groaned and turned, firing a bolt of energy at where Vegetto had appeared that cut through him.

     "I swear, you'd think after you two merged you'd at least get some new tactics." Cell said as Vegetto fell the ground in a heap.

     He started to get up and Cell simply sent another shearing blast through him. Vegetto growled and tried to stand again only to receive another shearing blast. With each blast Cell took another step towards him. He shot out his hand and grabbed Vegetto by the neck before knocking him miles away. Cell then merely flicked his wrist backwards and slapped the approaching Piccolo into unconscious.

     Instantly, Cell was where Vegetto had fallen. The two fused Saiyens STILL tried to rise but Cell simply placed them into another headlock.

     "You know." Cell began, "I've been sitting in Hell for nearly two decades planning and plotting my revenge. You wouldn't believe the scenarios I planned out. Elaborate. Complex. I not only killed you all in a thousand ways, but I broke you in a thousand more. But when the day you plan and plan and plan for actually comes….well it's not really as thrilling as you'd like it to be. You have such high expectations and then you're disappointed. The disappointment is that this was entirely TOO easy. As a matter of fact, it's so easy I'm just going to destroy your world and be done with it."

     "You won't win Cell….you won't!" Vegetto growled

     "That's where you're wrong. I'm going to and there's nothing an invalid can do to stop me." Cell smiled.

CRACK!

      Cell dropped Vegetto to the ground. He was still alive, but also quite paralyzed. Cell then simply rose into the air and looked down as the earth became smaller and smaller. Satisfied, he stopped outside the earth's atmosphere and looked down on it.

     "Oh death, where is thy sting?" Cell smiled as he brought his hands upwards and together.

     "Ka"

     Blue energy flickered.

     "Me"

     The energy grew brighter.

     "Ha"

     The energy started to glow brighter and grew in intensity in his hands.

     "Me"

     The energy raged and begged for release. On earth, Vegetto looked skyward and saw a huge plume of blue energy.

     "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

     Cell released the blast and like a bullet to Hell it sped to the earth, ripping a hole in the atmosphere, setting the very air itself on fire. Vegetto roared in anger as the burst kept coming. It was all over.

     The blast struck a city and made it naught but a memory. Then it burrowed deep into the crust of the earth. It charred its way through the mantle and finally hit the core before going out the other side. The earth shook and bolts of blue energy arced from the ground. Chunks were blown out of it. The very planet was knocked off its axis. The explosion in the center issued forth tearing the planet to pieces.

     And the jet carrying Bulma and Dawn was torn asunder and exploded. Dawn screamed and then fell silent as the rest of the world ended in a fiery blue burst.

     It was gone. All of it. Earth was destroyed.

     And Cell looked upon his work smiling.

     "There is thy sting death. There."


	9. City of Devils

     The Angel Investigations crew was not having a good time. It had been over twenty four hours since they had last heard from Angel. Odd ships had appeared over the Hellmouth in Sunnydale early the previous morning and then with the crack of dawn, the Hellmouth exploded upwards into pillars of flame visible a full two hours away. Then the earthquake struck and had done major damage to the city. And of course, Angel had to go gallivanting off to the rescue to try and save Buffy and the others in the town. Despite the chaos of the situation though, it was unlike Angel to not check in. Something was wrong.

     Wesley knew it. He KNEW it. He had been trained to try and handle any eventuality, but this was beyond his training. He was frightened by the enormity of the situation.  His fear was further magnified by the small form of Connor in his arms. He had sworn to protect Angel's son no matter what. He would hold to that promise.

     Cordelia Chase wasn't well off either. She had a vision the previous night of her mother and father dying in flames. At the time she was unsure if it was just a dream though. But the Hellmouth's eruption proved it hadn't been. If she had been more sure, then maybe Angel could have stopped it. Or called Buffy and have her stop it. At the thought of Buffy, Cordy began to remember everyone else that had been in Sunnydale when it went up in flames. Buffy's little sister whom she had always liked. Shy, mousy Willow. Xander.

     "Oh God Xander….the last time I saw you I was so mean to you. Oh God I'm sorry. I'm so sorry now." Cordelia wept inwardly as she took another drink of the whiskey bottle before passing it over to Gunn.

     Mentally, Gunn was holding up better than anyone. Physically, well that was a whole new ball game wasn't it? A beam had fallen on him at the Hyperion when the quake hit. He couldn't move much at all. His ribs were broken and he might have a concussion, but he was stable. The whiskey helped to deaden any remaining pain.

     Fred was a wreck. Any progression the girl had made from her five-year ordeal in the dimension of Pylea had gone to the wayside. The whole world has just come crashing down around her, literally. She was afraid and wanted nothing more than to be alone. She wanted to crawl into a closet or under the bar and into a fetal position and just stay there. But she couldn't leave Gunn. Her feelings for him had grown too strong. She had to stay there with him. She had to.

     The green skinned demon Lorne came walking in from the backroom with a cell phone talking on it. If it were at all possible, he looked greener than usual.

     "You're sure he's in the city? Positive? Oh well that's just great. The Pestilent gods are just smiling down on us today aren't they? …No don't find a medium and have them find out. That was a figure of speech sweetheart. Yeah, yeah. Well you call me back if you find anything else new okay? Okay good. And hey, keep safe." Lorne said before hanging up the phone.

     "What's happened now? From the sounds of things you'd think the Antichrist just walked into town." Cordelia commented.

     "Well you're not far off. Just got off the phone with an associate of mine, a sporax demon downtown, and he says that a whole mess of vamps came into town just before sunrise. We're talking an army hiding in the sewers here. And when night falls, guess what great American city becomes an all you can eat buffet." Lorne explained

     "That's horrible." Wesley grimly commented.

     "God, I hate vampires. I spend three whole years nearly getting snacked on by them and then "oh look, the fangy population just experienced a boom". Great." Cordelia commented sarcastically.

     "It gets worse." Lorne said.

     "How could it get worse?" Gunn asked.

     "Well my associate said that the Master was there leading them." Lorne explained.

     "Huh? No that can't be right. Buffy killed the Master when we were in high school." Cordelia said.

     "Yes, I read Mr. Giles's Watcher diaries quite extensively. Buffy killed the Master. She threw him through a skylight and impaled him on some large piece of wood at the high school some six years ago." Wesley said as he rocked the sleeping Connor in his arms.

     "Well all I know is that's what my pal told me. The guy was big, ugly, a vampire, and called himself the Master." Lorne repeated.

     "Well I hope y'all excuse me for not being up to date on my vampires, but who's the Master?" Fred asked

     "Yeah, I've only heard Angel mention the guy once or twice. Wasn't he Darla's sire?" Gunn asked as he sat up in pain.

     "Yes. The Master is an exceptionally powerful vampire. He's old, ancient. Some believe him to be only six hundred, but in all likelihood that's simply a story he concocted himself in order to make his opponent's unaware. I mean you use different tactics on a six hundred year old than you do on a vampire that's over a thousand. He's very powerful." Wesley explained.

     "Yeah, the guy's reputation was so bad that he had vamps here in L.A. shake at the mention of his name. And that's when he was all sealed up in his own little prison back in Sunnydale." Lorne added.

     "But he couldn't possibly be alive, so to speak." Wesley said, his brow furrowing.

     "Yeah, Buffy even smashed his bones a few months later when this freaky little kid vampire tried to bring him…back…to life." Cordelia said with realization sinking in on her, "Come to think of it, the Master killed Buffy and she came back. Then she died again last summer. Then Angel killed Darla back in high school too and she came back. God, that's so tacky. If you die, just stay freaking dead. I swear."

     "When you put it that way, it would seem probable that with all that's happened lately that the Master could have been returned to life. Perhaps when the Hellmouth was ruptured, the Master and many other vampires could have been spewed forth and back to earth. However that would mean that all other things that have died and been sent to hell would return as well. That would mean countless vampires, demons and even humans who were incarcerated there are back." Wesley continued

     "So in other words, good ole' mother earth is looking at a big population problem." Gunn stated.

    The room was grim.

    "Vodka on the rocks coming right up." Lorne replied, sighing.

      Back at the Hellmouth crater, a horror among horrors was crawling out. Fingers tore into the rock making handholds as the unholy abomination climbed upwards. Anger was within its heart and it growled gutturally. Slowly one hand reached the top of the crater, followed by another. The creature pulled itself to its feet and put its hand in front of its eyes recoiling from the sunlight.

     "Ow! I forgot how much the sun fricking hurts your eyes when you're meat." Glory said adjusting to the light and looking around the area.

     "Well this place is a total loss. Shame really. Nice boutiques on the Hellmouth. Well just one place to go then. L.A. here I come." Glory laughed as she kicked a rock into the crater.

     The rock rebounded off the crater walls down further and further until it hit the bottom. The ground stirred for a moment. It was not time yet. But soon it would awaken. And then the world would scream.

      Deep in the bowels of the Los Angeles sewer system, an army of vampires laughed and exchanged ideas on what sick things they could inflict upon the surface once night fell. Among them were many creatures of infamy.

     There was Tectare Gortch, a vampire who was just aching to raise hell with his brother Lyle once he could get in contact with him. There was the insane Zachary Kralik who was talking about his mother and periodically feeling intense pain. On occasion, he had to be put down by the Three to keep him from going berserk.

     Frankly, he scared the hell out of the spectacled Dalton. Dalton was more of a research type vampire anyways. Sunday on the other hand was not. She was an upstart and wanted to get away from all these morons and do her own thing once it was all said and done. 

     And most frightening of all was a quartet of vampires so evil that even the others shied away from them. Two were actually quite unassuming. The first of them was little more than a child, but behind his innocent looks hid a devious mind. He was Colin, the Anointed One. To the front of him stood a diminutive and attractive looking blonde woman. She was sly, cunning, manipulative and to say the least, a bitch. She was Darla.

     At her side was a huge male. He wore his demonic features, as did all the vampires, but his very presence was unsettling. He would often cast gazes to his sides when he walked by, freezing any vampire in their place at once. Luke expected absolute reverence from every vampire there, and he got it. However, that reverence was not for him. No, it was for his master, THE Master.

     If Luke was unsettling, then the Master was a nightmare given form. He was just as tall as Luke, albeit thinner. He was a gaunt creature who moved in an elegant, and slightly eerie, air. He wore black leather that made him appear all the sleeker. His fingers ended in long claws that made even more vampires wary. But his face, his face was the most frightening aspect. He wore his demonic features with pride. He had no place for human ones. That was not befitting on someone of his station. No, he wore his demonic features permanently. 

     Most vampires kept a semblance of humanity, with only their brows, eyes, and teeth changing. The Master's entire head was changed. He was totally bald, which made his pointed ears all the more noticeable. His brow was changed of course, but so was his jaw. In many ways, the Master resembled a bat. His teeth protruded from his mouth, and the area around his lips was stained red with blood. His very appearance shook every vampire within view into attention.

     "My people, my oh my, it's been a long time hasn't it? A long time since we have the luxury of feasting upon humans. Too long were we caged in that backwater dimension that called itself "Hell". Too long were we denied what we are destined. To feed, to feed and to have dominion over this world. OUR world. For if not ours, whose is it? The humans? Please, they don't even acknowledge our existence. But all that changes tonight. Tonight we will go out to the ruins of Los Angeles. Tonight, we will make the streets run red with blood. Tonight we will lap up that blood and take our place at the top of the food chain. This is to be our night. Our dominion begins and it will be glorious!" the Master spoke elegantly.

     "Humph. You still talk too much Nest." a large, scarred vampire said leaning against a wall.

     "Bite your tongue infidel! The Master does not brook such insolence from anyone!" Luke shouted

     "It's quite alright Luke, we're old friends. It's good to see you are among our number Kakistos, even if it is just to criticize me." the Master smirked.

     Kakistos growled and walked up to the Master and stared at him eye to eye before laughing.

     "Good times are here once more." Kakistos laughed.

     "Indeed they are little brother." The Master said laughing as well

     "Brother?" Luke asked gaping.

     "Luke, don't deign that even you know everything about our Master." Darla said smirking. The Anointed One likewise smiled.

     "Quite the family reunion." he offered.

     With that Darla looked down slightly. Her look had not gone unnoticed.

     "Excuse me Kakistos, I need to speak to my favorite." the Master said putting his hand on Kakistos's shoulder before walking past Darla. For four hundred years, Darla knew what that gesture meant. It plainly stated, "Follow me".

     Darla warily followed her sire as he walked away from the rest of the vampire congregation. When they were far enough away, the Master turned to her and ran a claw down her hair and onto her cheek.

     "My dear Darla. My favorite. How I have missed you." The Master said smiling at her.

     "And I you father." Darla said keeping her eyes on the ground.

     "Then what troubles my dear?" he said stroking her hair and pulling her into a fatherly embrace.

     "It's nothing." she said muffled against his chest.

     He pulled back her head by the hair.

     "Darla, you know my policy on lying, to me anyway." the Master growled.

     "I'm sorry, Master." Darla pleaded.

     The Master's grip slackened and went back to a gentle caress.

     "Then tell me my dear. What's wrong?" The Master asked again

     "It was when Colin mentioned family. I need to tell you something. Something that I only told Trick before we captured Angelus." Darla said apprehensive.

     "And that is?" the Master cooed

     "I was returned to earth once before. I was with Angelus as well. We…. we had a child. An actual child." Darla said closing her eyes to prepare for the blinding pain to come, but it never did.

     "I see." was the Master's simple response.

     "I have no idea why it happened. It just did. Master, it made me…. Feel. It actually made me feel things I thought were long buried. It shamed me." Darla nearly sobbed.

     "Darla, love is not unknown to our kind. The swell of love and pride in something is nothing to be shamed of. I feel it when I look at you. You're my favorite. Your union with Angelus, while completely devoid of taste, is no sin. Embrace love, but don't let it cause you to make mistakes. I don't tolerate those." the Master explained.

     "Master, I don't want to feel these things though! They shouldn't be so damned important. I just want to kill the child and be done with it but when I think about harming it, this feeling wells up inside me and I want to cry. But I don't cry Master. I haven't cried in years, but I want to and it hurts me Master, it hurts." Darla said with tears starting to form.

     "Silence." the Master ordered, "The bond between a parent and a child is much like that between a sire and his child. It is unique and bigger than both involved. It is special. It is no sin. I give you this choice. Kill the child if you wish. I could care less if you throw that bond away. Given time you will heal inside and be your old self again. Or you can take the child, and raise it as one of our own. After all, your blood flows through its veins. Either way it makes no matter to me. Do what you have to, but don't whine if you decide you've made the wrong choice. I won't abide whining."

     Darla smiled affectionately at her sire.

     "Thank you Master." Darla said hugging the larger vampire's torso.

     "Oooooh grand mummy is seeking penance from the king. The moon says that he forgives her, Miss Edith. Ooooh there will be cakes today." a new voice cooed in the darkness.

     Darla and the Master both instinctively looked at where it was coming from and in the dark saw a beautiful young lady in a Victorian era dress holding a doll. She had striking features, pale skin, long ebon hair, and the deepest eyes one could ever hope to look into.

     "Drusilla?!" Darla asked dumbfounded

     "Yes grand mummy. I've come to your party, with the streamers and the dances.", Drusilla said as she waltzed gracefully to Darla and the Master.

     "Darla, who is this?" the Master asked curiously.

     "This is one of Angelus's children, Drusilla." Darla explained. The Master looked from Dru to Darla again and cocked his head, "He drove her insane."

     "Ah. That explains it." the Master said examining Drusilla

     "Daddy didn't drive me insane silly thing. He let me see all the pretty things that no one else sees. He gave me the moon. He let me see the things that won't be, and will be. There like that, then gone in a vapor. Ssssph." Drusilla demonstrated by waving her hand.

     "She sees the future eh?" The Master smiled.

     "Sometimes. Other times she sees burning fish swimming in the air. She's hard to decipher." Darla explained.

     "Are you my great grand daddy? Will you take me on walks in the park and buy me raspberry jam when I'm a good girl?" Drusilla said looking up to the larger vampire.

     "Perhaps, but tell me young lady, how did you get past my lookouts?" the Master asked

     "Not looking out anymore. All dust. I just walked in." Drusilla answered

     "You killed them?" Darla asked as Dru began to giggle.

     "Silly grand mummy, of course not. I saw a dirty man do it with a naughty crossbow. Oooooh someone might lose an eye and will be scolded." Drusilla laughed

     "The dirty man?" Darla asked

     "You know him. The one who hurt daddy until you rescued him long, long ago." Dru replied fiddling with her doll.

     "Holtz?!" Darla exclaimed, remembering that the vampire hunter, Holtz was indeed alive in this century.

     "Mmmhmmm. Time's all twisty around him, like taffy. He's been killing any demon he can find up above and down here since the fire started playing and all the dead things walk again. Oh it will be such a party. The dirty man, and us, and daddy, and the big snake, and oooooh the bad thing down in the hole. If only my Spike were here to see it. He's gone all PFF and somewhere else now. I miss my Spike. He was meant to be my playmate till that nasty slayer took his heart. Dreadful girl. I shall tear her hair out and eat her eyes." Drusilla continued.

     The Master cocked his head then laughed.

     "I like her. She makes me laugh."


	10. LA Confidential

     "This sucks." Angel thought as he rode along in the mouth of the giant serpent. It was hot, wet, and smelled very, VERY bad, "Hope he just remembers my instructions."

    Angel felt impact in the next few seconds. Then he was flying through the air and slammed into a wall. He held his head and looked up. The sun greeted him and his skin began to sizzle. He had only a few seconds of life remaining unless he immediately took cover. That's when the Mayor's tail slammed into him and knocked him through two metal double doors into a darkened hallway. The burning stopped as the Mayor poked his huge head into the double doors.

    "Comfy?" the giant serpent asked.

    "Not especially." Angel said standing up, "This is the place. I remember this hallway."

    "Good. I don't have to kill you then. Where's Faith?" the Mayor asked, as he began to slither into the hallway as best his girth would allow.

    "Couple hundred of feet away. The place looks damaged. Probably by the earthquake that the Hellmouth caused when it erupted." Angel stated.

    The penitentiary was a shambles. All the lights were out and electrical wires jutted out everywhere. There were no sounds of movement or talking. It was very quiet, with only the occasional rasp of electricity sparking from cables.

    "Smell anything?" Angel asked.

    "Well, to be honest I'm not quite used to being a giant snake yet. I died before I could fully develop my abilities. Which reminds me, I'll need to eat soon. I don't feel so well." The Mayor said.

    "Don't eat me.", Angel ordered.

    "Now, I know that Bill Cosby used to joke about the good old days and how people ate dust, but that particular flavor isn't on my pallet after snacking on Trick. Heh heh. Bill Cosby. Great comedian. Doesn't need toilet humor to be funny." the Mayor snickered as he followed along slowly.

    "This is too weird. We should be seeing some people here. Guards, prisoners that escaped, something. This doesn't feel right." Angel explained.

    "Now there's an interesting sensation." The Mayor said suddenly.

    "What?"

    "I feel things. Vibrations. It's unusual." The Mayor replied.

    "Most snakes are primarily deaf and blind. They usually go by sense of smell and feel." Angel said.

    "Now see I knew that. Saw it on Wild Kingdom once. I think I'm feeling a lot of vibrations, towards the center of this building." The Mayor replied.

    "Human?" Angel asked.

    Suddenly there was a loud growling mere feet from them. Two insidiously ugly vampires with glowing yellow eyes stood fifteen feet away from Angel and the Mayor.

    "Scratch that then." Angel said, his facial features going to his vampire form.

    The Mayor barreled forward knocking Angel to the wayside. The two vampires ceased to exist seconds later. Angel growled in frustration as he stood up and saw the Mayor still rocketing down the hallway.

    "Sometimes I hate my life." Angel sighed as he followed the carnage the giant snake left is its wake.

     He finally caught up to the Mayor in a gigantic room. It was the cellblock. Angel took in his surroundings and saw the Mayor thrashing an attacking, with dozens of vampires clinging to him like ants on a worm. Angel further scanned the area and saw human bodies, the women who had been incarcerated here, hanging upside down from ropes as their blood dripped from them. Angel would have been nauseated, if he hadn't done things that were much worse in his life.

    A vampire leapt at him and struck him, hard. Angel slammed into a wall and looked face to face with his assailant. It wasn't too big actually. In fact it was short and thin, but its features were hideous even by vampire standards. It reminded Angel on older vampires like the Master. Bald and hideous, it growled like an animal and hissed at him defiantly. Angel's memory drew back on all the supernatural lore he had accumulated in his two hundred and fifty years of life. This was no mere vampire. This was an offshoot of his species that had fewer weaknesses, less intelligence, and a serious vicious streak. It was a Turok-Han. Angel simply bared his fangs and attacked.

      Giles stood in the LaGuardia International Airport and watched the TV screens in fear. His flight to Los Angeles had been diverted here due to all the destruction in the area and no new flights were going out. Reports came in across various stations about the immense destruction the now absent ships had rained all over California and various spots in the world the day before.

     Giles was in shock at all that had happened. When he had first learned of the "Sunnydale Fireball" when he had landed in New York, he had nearly collapsed. All the people he had known in addition to the makeshift family he had made over the years were gone. The town was annihilated.

    There was no way of getting to California. At least by airplane. Giles mulled his options and found a solution. He ran to the ticket counter to get a one-way ticket back to England. There was no way of getting to California by way of airplane, but magick on the other hand was something else entirely. He merely hoped the Coven would be willing to aid him.

      The floor of the former town of Sunnydale stirred. Something was writhing beneath the rock. Something was getting hungry.

      Angel slammed his fist into the Turok-Han and moved it back. It was strong and resilient. Angel silently cursed. He wasn't doing as well as he would have hoped. The spring loaded stake in his coat sleeve had no effect on the monster. This species apparently had evolved past the stake through the heart method.

     The Turok-Han pushed him back away from the cellblock and into the hallway, where Angel could no longer see the Mayor, but could still hear him thrashing about and roaring. Angel growled in frustration as the Turok-Han pressed him against the wall and rained blow after blow upon him. Angel struggled back, biting the demon ferociously in addition to kneeing its groin. The Turok-Han pressed onward.

    "Evolved past the nut shot too huh?" Angel growled through his teeth at the creature in front of him.

     The creature had no understanding of Angel's words and simply bit into his shoulder causing Angel to scream in pain. Seconds later, Angel flinched as a metal bar effortlessly cut through the head of the Turok-Han and stopped mere inches away from his face. It fell backwards, and Angel saw his savior, all clad in a wife beater and standard issue prison pants.

    "Hey Angel. How's tricks?"

    "Nice to see you too Faith." Angel said examining his wound before directing his attention back to her, "How are you out and about?"

    "Quake hit a few hours ago. Really messed the place up as you can see. We were doing okay though 'till these things came up out of the floor. The guards let us out. Figured we were better off out of our cells than sitting in them. Didn't know what to think except you know "Vamps bad. Stake them". Course it didn't work out too well." the Dark Slayer explained.

    "They're Turok-Han. Not the same as my kind. Whole new ball game." Angel answered her, "I saw what those things did to the other prisoners. Are there survivors?"

     "Not that I know of. I managed to get to the utility tunnels under the prison with what weapons I could find." Faith nodded to the downed Turok-Han with the steel prison bar embedded in its skull, "I did have a few people with me at first. They didn't last. Hell, I'm barely Five by Five myself. These things are tough. Led them all over the utility tunnels and got into the vents. Figured I could get out this way. Heard a big racket then heard you screaming. What is that big noise anyway?"

    Angel looked down the hall to the opening in the wall where he could still make out the Mayor fighting off the Turok-Han. The mammoth snake had wanted to find Faith more than anything else in the world. But she was a changed woman now, and it probably wasn't best for her to see her only father figure as a giant snake either.

    "Big demon. It's holding them off, so while it is I think we'd best…." Angel turned kicking the wounded Turok-Han into a loose electrical wire, the steel bar touching the wire and making the vampire burn from the inside out, "get back to L.A."

    Faith watched the Turok-Han burn and convulse.

    "Fire still does the trick." Faith quipped.

     "Can you hot wire one of the cars outside and drive it to L.A. with me in the trunk?" Angel asked.

    "Please. I've hot wired cars in my sleep before." Faith smirked.

    "Thank God for small favors." Angel replied as they took off, leaving the Mayor to fend for himself.

      Daniel Holtz was a man without a family. It had been taken from him centuries ago by the cruel vampire Angelus and his consort Darla. He had been given a second chance however, not by a deity however, but by a demon. The demon had transported him to the proper place and time to do battle with the creatures and now vengeance would be his. That was the plan of course. But as he surveyed the city's landscape, his desire for vengeance was quelled and his desire to protect the inhabitants of Los Angeles from demons took over. So far he had killed a few Fyarrl, a Polgara, a minor Frolax demon, and many, many vampires. He had even gone into the sewer system to kill a few, but had gotten more than he bargained for when he had heard the Master had an army beneath the streets.

    He had heard of the Master in his own time. He was ancient even then. He was a threat, as impossible as it sounded, greater than Angelus. Therefore he was the main priority now.

    "When night falls, the Master's army will blanket the city, devouring and turning more into vampires. They will reproduce exponentially. This cannot happen." Holtz thought to himself, "But I am bereft of my followers. The earthquake claimed them. But I have survived. And because I am alive, I must do everything in my power to stop these things from devastating the city. But I can't do it alone, so I will need allies. Loathe as I am to admit it, the only ones capable of halting this invasion are Angelus and his blind followers. Ironic, in order to save the lives of thousands, I must ally myself with my most hated enemy. And that is only if they accept my help. Regardless of whether they accept it or not, they will have it. And then, when the struggle is over, Angelus will die."

    Daniel Holtz smiled and headed for the ruins of the Hyperion hotel.

    Wesley sighed at the infant he held. Connor merely looked up at him and cooed. 

    "It's sad, that you should have to go through this. You're so young and already the world is closing in around you. I suppose that how all the Slayers that the Council has recruited feel at times. A harsh, violent, world forced upon them that they have little to no control over. If only you knew what world you came into." Wesley said quietly to the infant.

    "Wouldn't really change things." Cordelia said sitting down by him, "known about how the world really is for about six years now. Still sucks even when you have a good idea of what's coming."

    "This place is certainly filling up isn't it?" Wesley commented as the room was packed with various humans and demons with more coming in every moment.

    "Yeah.", was Cordy's simple reply before she started bursting into tears. Wesley saw her pain and lay Connor down into his makeshift sleeping space and put his arms around Cordelia.

    "I'm sorry Cordelia. I really am for all that's happened." Wesley said to her.

    "You have nothing to be sorry of….it's my fault. I had a vision but I didn't know if it was just a vision or a dream because I was half awake and instead of telling anyone about it I come down here and start drinking." Cordelia wept into his shoulder.

    "Cordelia, even if you did know there was really nothing you could have done. Nothing any of us could have done." Wesley said trying to ease her pain.

    "Yeah well that doesn't make it any easier! My parents are dead Wes. I never spoke to them that much and now I'll never speak to them again! Buffy, Willow, and Xander are dead! Again, I wasn't close to them but they were still important people in my life and now they're gone! And of course, Angel has to go running off to help his Buffy and now he might be dead too." Cordelia cried.

    Wesley looked to Connor and then Cordelia, "Don't say that. You don't know that."

    "No Wes, I don't know that. I don't know if he's alive though either because it's been a day and we still haven't heard from him. And do you know what the worst part is? I feel like there's this hole in my heart because I had feelings for him and never got to tell him. Do you know what that feels like? It hurts! A lot!" Cordelia explained.

    A hand rested on Cordy's shoulder.

    "It's alright Cordy. I'm here." Angel said looking down at the Seer.

    Cordelia turned and looked up at the vampire in awe. Then she practically leapt on him and gave him a deep, powerful kiss that would have left him breathless, had he needed to breathe. Angel was for the most part shocked, and pulled away.

    "Wow." was Angel's rather stunned response.

    "I was so worried." Cordelia said embracing him.

    "Wow. I mean….its okay. I'm here now." Angel explained, his lips still tingling.

    "Did you find anyone from the Sunnydale contingent?" Wesley asked.

    "Well, yes and no Wes." Faith said as she strode up beside Angel.

    "Oh bollocks." Wesley sighed.      


	11. Just Ultimate

The Triskellion……base of the Ultimates.

Hank Pym was hard at work. He was sure that whatever God was watching was quite possibly trying to slowly drive him insane. First he had snapped at Janet and actually gotten so angry that he had hit her. Then that glorified jock wearing a flag, Captain America has beaten him up like he was some sort of super villain. God forbid he ever hurt Jan. It was the last thing he ever wanted to do, but he had been under so much stress with the Hulk and he had run out of Prozac and…things just escalated. He had wanted to try and fix things, he really had, but Janet wouldn't let him.

Then she went off and actually had the gall to kiss Cap. That made Hank want to hit the table next to him, but he reigned in his anger and just kept under control. This was a sensitive project he was working on here. One that wasn't a total joke.

Not like that idiotic rehabilitation program for Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, Flint Marko, and the rest of those criminal assholes who managed to make themselves villains right out of a sixties comic book. That was just punishment.

But this, this was the next step here. The real deal. Something that would get him his respect back. Something that would get Janet back. This was it! Something that would be the new flagship of the Ultimates if he had anything to say about it. He was just glad that he had been granted permission and funds to create it. It was….

A silver colored hand reached up and grabbed Pym by the throat.

"ACK!" Hank choked.

"Fascinating." Moloch's voice said as he sat up, "This body…is so much more advanced than the last one…so much more….powerful."

He tossed Pym across the room with ease and looked at the other lab technicians in the room. Moloch cocked his new head and looked at them.

"It could use some horns though. I never get tired of those." Moloch said.

"It's alright! Just stay calm!" Hank said, as he managed to get up and choke out the words, "Just stay calm!"

Moloch turned and gazed at Pym.

"It would be a good idea to stay calm yourself." Moloch said, turning and fully towering over Pym.

"Power down." Hank ordered.

Moloch cocked his head again.

"No." Moloch replied.

"You're not programmed to be online yet. Power down." Hank ordered.

"I said no."

"I SAID POWER DOWN, ULTRON I!" Hank shouted, losing his composure.

"Ultron?" Moloch asked, "One moment."

He paused and seemed to be thinking, his red eyes flashing for a moment.

"Ah yes. ULTRoN I. Ultimate Robotic Nemesis. Clever. I like that…Ultron…Ultron…Yes, I may just use that name." Moloch/Ultron said wistfully.

"You're not what I created." Hank said, "You're some hacker or a mutant that can control machines."

"Not quite, but close enough." Ultron said, observing Hank.

"You're not getting out of here with my work." Hank replied, angrily.

"Of course I am. I do this for Dahak. I live for Dahak. I die for Dahak. I kill for Dahak." Ultron said happily, "I love Dahak."

"Oh?" Hank asked, his buttoned up shirt seemingly beginning to look tight….buttons snapping, "Do you love this too?"

Giant Man lifted Ultron up as he smashed through several stories of the base: breaking through floors and ceilings: slamming Ultron into the floor hard and pressing down on him.

"Huh?! You love that?!!" Hank screamed.

A loud gunshot like sound echoed as Hank screamed. Ultron had snapped his wrist.

"No." Ultron said, eyes glowing red.

Hank's fifty nine foot body went crashing through the building and slamming outside on the pavement of the street by the building Pym worked in. Ultron merely walked out after him and over him, making sure to drive his foot into his ribcage violently.

"Begin the attack." Ultron said aloud.

Miles north, hundreds of red eyes glowed with life as the Sentinels became animated.

"Man." Nick Fury said, from his office as he saw Ultron walk over Pym, "This is what you get when you let a geneticist work outside his field."

"Do I pass?" Xander asked, hopefully.

"Your story does appear to check out." A young man with brown hair said at a set of controls.

"You're positive?" Spider-Man groaned.

"Oh yes. I personally created this brain wave scanning unit. It's going to revolutionize the entire law enforcement industry, once it gets properly tested and introduced." The man replied.

"And when's that going to happen?" Xander asked.

"Around 2010. These things take time." The man replied, reaching over and pulling the strange headset off of Xander's head.

Even though Xander was about ten feet away.

"Man, I never thought I'd see that." Xander smirked.

"Glad you enjoy." Reed Richards said, placing the headset on a table beside Xander and recoiling his arm, "I just stretch like that to show off."

"You cannot be serious about this." Spider-Man replied, "The guy's a goofball!"

"His story checks out." Reed replied.

"Goofy goofy goofball!" Spider-Man shouted.

"His story isn't so outlandish. I've often hypothesized that there are indeed myriad realities out there, possibly existing on different frequencies than our own so that while we all occupy the same space, we're moving at different frequencies and just don't make physical contact." Reed replied.

"Goofy goofball!" Spider-Man shouted.

"Let the man talk. This is Mr. Fantastic, the smartest guy in the universe here. He knows his shit." Xander said.

"Well to be honest, I wouldn't say universe. Planet wouldn't be too far off though, but of course then you also have men like Stark and Van Damme around the same lev…" Reed said, pausing in mid-sentence and looking at his control panel, "That can't be good."

"What can't?" Spider-Man asked.

"I knew it. I'd end up in a brawl between Ronan the Accuser and the Super-Adaptoid." Xander groaned.

"Someone's trying to hack into the Baxter Building's security systems." Reed replied, pressing a few buttons.

The flashing red light of his control panel stopped and Reed smiled. Then it started again. His jaw nearly dropped.

"This is not good at all." Reed said, punching in a new series of buttons.

"Someone's hacking this system? THIS system?!" Spider-Man asked.

"Not only are they hacking but they're adapting at a rate that's actually keeping me on my toes. Fantastic!" Reed shouted.

"Yeah, I guess you're going to be hearing that word a lot." Xander replied.

"Whoever they are, they're good." Reed replied, now using both hands to type in configurations, "Bypassing firewalls like they're child's play. Let me run a trace."

Reed reached to the side and began to type again, immediately getting a bead on the location of the hacker.

"This can't be right." Reed replied.

"What?" Xander and Spider-Man said at once.

"This is coming from a wireless device at the Triskellion." Reed murmured.

Machine gunfire ricocheted off Ultron as he calmly walked towards the airfield. Nick Fury was angry as he fired his M-16 at the robot. Angry at it, at himself, but mostly at Pym.

"Commission me to build a robot made out of adamantium." Fury scoffed, "With my protocols we won't ever have an incident like with the Sentinels. Well this looks like a DAMNED big incident!"

"Localized nuke?" Hawkeye said, firing another explosive arrow at Ultron with no effect.

"Do it. PULL BACK!" Fury shouted.

"Yeah, less you wanna glow in the dark." Hawkeye said, pulling an arrow back against the string of his high powered bow, "Or ya know…go sterile."

The arrow fired out at incredible speeds and hit Ultron head on. A bright flash of light and ungodly heat issued forth from the explosion. Hawkeye smirked.

"I am THAT DAMNED GOOD." He said.

Ultron walked out of the dust that was flung into the air.

"Yes, you've succeeded…in getting my attention." Ultron replied.

"Well, you know what they say?" Hawkeye said, "If at first you don't succeed."

An even bigger explosion nailed Ultron and sent him flying.

"Use a localized nuclear bazooka." The Black Widow shouted from across the field.

Ultron skidded to a stop and rose again.

"Do you idiots have any plans to stop me other than making me radioactive?" Ultron asked.

He was tackled from behind.

"Well first of all, those are tiny nukes: fifteen foot radius max. The half-life of those rads are minutes at most." A new voice that seemed to be electronically distorted explained, "And secondly, if you want to stop a crazed robot—"

Iron Man threw Ultron into the air and began raining repulsor blasts on him.

"Get someone just as crazed and more than a little hammered." Iron Man finished.

Ultron slammed into the ground and immediately rose again.

"That's all you have?" Ultron asked, "That's it?"

Iron Man kept firing, hitting the machine/demon with everything his armor had to offer.

"That's nothing! It tickled!" Ultron laughed, "And now, I've got something you might enjoy."

Iron Man's armor turned and began firing on the SHIELD personnel gathered to stop Ultron. His eyes went wide as he blew up support trucks and helicopters. He tried to make the armor respond but it wouldn't.

"OH MY GOD! I'M NOT DOING THIS! HE'S CONTROLLING MY ARMOR!" Iron Man shouted.

"Yes, anything with a computer is mine to wield." Ultron replied, "Anything from helicopters—"

Several remaining choppers just shut off in mid-air.

"—to that witch's bionic implants—"

The Black Widow spasmed in pain as her implants effectively shut down.

"—to Sentinels—"

Dozens of Sentinels roared towards Manhattan in the air.

"—to nuclear missiles."

Deep in the heartland, missile systems began to launch.

"And there's nothing any of you can do to stop me." Ultron laughed, as Iron Man fired on Nick Fury.

Fury was ready for death. Of course he wasn't going to face it as Quicksilver moved him out of the way between the ticks of the clock.

"Fury." The super-fast mutant stated.

"Quicksilver. Casualties?" Fury asked.

"Between my sister twisting probability to our side and my speed? Effectively zero." Quicksilver replied.

"Good, but I've got a job for you because you're the only one who can do it." Fury stated.

"Give me the codes to shut down the missiles." Quicksilver said.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" Fury asked.

"Please. You think I can't think as fast as I move?" Quicksilver asked, making another pass and picking up the Black Widow as well.

"Well let's get you those codes then." Fury smirked.

"And so it's down to us then." Ultron said, as Hawkeye leapt and rolled, dodging repulsor bursts.

"Looks like." Hawkeye said, "'Course this isn't really fair what with you using Stark there as a weapon?"

"Clint for God's sake! Get out of here!" Iron Man shouted.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch Stark! We've got protocols for this." Hawkeye said flipping and drawing back his string.

The arrow impacted Iron Man and sent surges of electricity arcing off of his armor. A moment later he fell to the ground and Ultron felt he had lost control of the armor.

"EM arrow." Hawkeye smirked.

"Care to try one on me?" Ultron said, batting Iron Man out of his way and striding towards Hawkeye.

"Between all that plating on your big ten foot ass and the fact that you're too stupid to go down it won't make a difference." Hawkeye replied, "'Sides, Cap called dibs."

Ultron was swept to the ground and got something hard to the face. Something round and flat: a shield. Ultron lashed out at it, slamming a huge fist into it and sending it and its bearer flying in the air. Of course, the man carrying the shield flipped and landed on his feet and again charged the rising Ultron. Another huge fist slammed into the shield, but this time the man didn't go anywhere.

"You're sending men with weaponry that was archaic a thousand years ago at me?" Ultron laughed, throwing a punch.

The shield slammed into Ultron's wrist from the side and then met his head with a loud clang before rebounding into its wielder's hand.

"Archaic doesn't mean harmless, meatball." Captain America said, ducking another blow from Ultron and rolling between his legs, "Get moving Hawkeye. I've got it from here."

"Far be it from me to argue with you." Hawkeye said, turning, "Just watch your ass!"

Cap blocked another blow with his shield.

"Done deal." Cap replied, ducking and weaving.

"You honestly think you can keep this up forever?" Ultron asked.

"Not forever, just long enough." Captain America said, cart wheeling backwards then back flipping over the hood of a truck which then became airborne from a punch from Ultron. Cap rose slowly as the truck flew just inches away from his head.

"Long enough for what?" Ultron asked, throwing a punch that splintered the pavement when Cap leapt back.

"Long enough to see if the same trick we used on the Hulk takes care of you." Cap replied.

Ultron pondered his words before he sputtered and shrieked, stopping in mid-step. Cap smirked and stopped moving.

"How was that?" the Wasp said, flying from Ultron's mouth and landing on Captain America's shoulder.

"That was just great sweetheart. We nailed him." Cap replied.

"You're the one who came up with the plan." The Wasp said flittering into the air and kissing Cap's cheek.

"You fight one brick, you've fought them all." Cap replied.

Ultron suddenly came back to life and threw a punch.

"Jan move!" Cap said, raising his shield just in time to absorb the blow and send him flying.

The Wasp likewise moved, straight up as high as her little wings could take her and away from Ultron.

"Now that would have been a good way to stop me, if Dahak hadn't promised me complete control over this body." Ultron growled, "I salute you, but it's going to take more than a fairy crawling around in my innards to stop me."

"Okay." Cap said rising, "Plan B."

"So…what do you wanna do today?" Johnny Storm said, bored as hell.

"I dunno…what do you wanna do today?" his sister Susan Storm replied.

"NOW DON'T START THAT AGAIN!" Ben Grimm shouted.

"Jeez Ben, make me go deaf." Johnny replied.

"Sorry matchstick, but I've heard you two go through that crap so many times already today that I think I'm just gonna go down to the zoo, pick me out a cage, and move in just to get some blasted quiet." Ben said.

"Temper, Ben." Sue said, walking to the bar behind the seven foot behemoth to get a drink.

"Eh, sorry Susie. Just getting' antsy I guess." The Thing replied, sitting on the floor.

"Want a drink?" Sue asked.

"Yeah, just make sure to pour it in the my titanium shot glass back there so I don't destroy whatever I pick up." The Thing said.

"Uh…guys…." Johnny said looking out the window.

"What's your poison?" Sue asked.

"Guys…" Johnny said again.

"Shot o' Tequila." Ben replied.

"GUYS!" Johnny shouted.

"WHAT?!" Ben and Sue asked, looking to Johnny—

And seeing the huge Sentinel hovering outside the window, palm pointed at them with red energy building up.

"Jeez Louise." The Thing said, as the blast issued out of the Sentinel's hand.

It ripped through the window and through the room, Johnny dropping to escape its path. Sue merely put up her invisible force field as the blast approached fast. She barely had time to put it up herself, much less Ben. He would have to fend for himself.

The explosion and flash made Johnny and Sue Storm both cover their ears and clamp their eyes shut. All the liquor went up behind the bar, starting a fire that Johnny would have to absorb once he could flame on. But Ben…poor Ben….he was….he was…..still sitting on the floor, with his jumpsuit slightly torn but otherwise looking okay.

"Hey Susie?" the Thing said, standing.

"Yeah?" Sue replied, almost in shock that Ben was alive.

"Cancel that drink." The Thing said as walked towards the now blasted open side of the building, stepping over Johnny and looking at the Sentinel floating the air, with more joining it over the skyline of New York.

"Hey Robbie the Robot!" the Thing bellowed, "Guess what time it is?"

"Enhanced Humanoid statement irrelevant. Prepare for termination." The Sentinel replied, powering up another blast.

"Naw! Yer wrong! I'll tell you what time it is!" The Thing said, breaking off into a run and leaping at the huge robot.

"IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

"Did you feel that?" Spider-Man asked.

"Oh God, maybe they brought Giganto too!" Xander quaked in fear.

"Decaf. Make friends with it." Spider-Man replied before looking to Reed.

He was still going as fast as he could on the control panel.

"My God, this thing is fast and it adapts almost more quickly than I can keep up with it." Reed replied, moving his fingers as fast as he could, "And I think I've figured out what it wants."

"What's that?" Xander asked.

"Probably the very thing that you're here to get." Reed said looking up.

Xander looked over at Mr. Fantastic in disbelief.

"It does?" Xander asked in disbelief, "Crap, this has got to be that Lord of Hell's work."

"More than likely." Reed replied, "But don't worry, I'll have this under control in a moment."

"How can you be so sure?" Xander asked.

"Dude." Spider-Man interjected, "That's Mr. Fantastic."

Captain America's shield had been knocked away. Ultron managed to gain a hit on him. Then another. The Captain was nearly unconscious as Ultron lifted him by the throat. The machine/demon hybrid would sneer if his facial features could allow it.

"Where's your Plan B? Hmm?" Ultron asked, "I don't see it anywhere."

Cap spit a combination of saliva and blood on the robot. Ultron calmly wiped it away.

"Well then…why don't you just die then?" Ultron said, throwing Captain America hundreds of feet into the air.

Cap felt like he was free falling in reverse and to be honest he was. As he rocketed upwards he had to wonder how such a nice sunny day had gone so bad….and gotten suddenly very cloudy. When he felt himself stop in mid-air he knew why.

Meanwhile, Ultron peered up at the sky and was rewarded with a strike from a lightning bolt. That didn't phase him in the least. But the huge freakin' hammer? Yeah, that put him on his back.

As he rose, he saw the hammer return to the hand of the man who threw it; a huge man setting Captain America down on his feet. The swollen face of the super-soldier was clearly smirking.

"Welcome to Plan B. We call him Thor." Cap said.

"SON OF ODIN!" Thor said, throwing his sacred hammer into Ultron and knocking him through several overturned trucks, before it returned to his hand.

The thunder god turned to Captain America.

"That wasn't too over the top was it?" Thor asked.

"Maybe just a smidge."


	12. More Than Meets the Eye

"Bloody Hell." Spike barely murmured, looking upwards, "Never thought I'd go out like this."

Indeed the last few hours were incredibly interesting. Things had happened that Spike hadn't thought possible, but now it was to the point where he couldn't conceive this end. He swallowed and looked up to Starscream towering above him.

"Scared?" Spike asked.

"Mortified." Starscream stammered back.

"Good. Makes….well all of us then." Spike said, reaching into his coat and lighting one last good fag before the end came.

Hours earlier…

"Well, least I can rest assured this can't get any worse." Spike thought as he lay on the table and looked up at the towering forms above him. There were three of them, all huge, big as giants. They didn't seem to be very jolly giants at that.

To one side was the creature he had seen before; large, blue, a red visor covering its eyes he guessed, and some kind of plate over its mouth. It stood by…passive…completely devoid of emotion or any feeling.

On the other side was a giant just as large, but its red eyes and mouth were clearly visible. It was colored white and red with wings that seemed to jut out from the sides and some kind of gun on each arm.

The figure in the center however was absolutely huge. It stood a head taller than either of the creatures and was broader to boot. It was solid white with black patches and a HUGE black cannon on the right arm. His face was a sneer with glowing red eyes. The only thing that distracted from them was a large purple insignia on its chest. Upon closer examination, Spike would find they all possessed such marks on them somewhere.

"Soundwave, explain." The huge metal giant in the center ordered as it cupped its chin.

The blue giant turned and reached over to a massive computer console, fingers dancing on the buttons, lighting the screen up. Spike rolled his eyes to the side and saw that on the screen seemed to be an outline of his body.

"The being you see on the table is technically dead." Soundwave's monotonous voice resounded, almost….harmonically Spike thought.

"And this is important why?" the red and white giant asked.

"Starscream." The largest giant replied almost kindly, "Do me a favor?"

"Starscream" seemed taken back.

"Uh…of course Megatron." Starscream smiled.

"Shut up." Megatron ordered harshly.

Starscream looked surprised and then scowled in anger.

"Initial scans detect some sort of unidentified infection traveling through the body of the human." Soundwave continued.

"JUST A BLOODY MINUTE!" Spike said, forgetting himself, "I'm no human!"

The three giants turned and glared at Spike, which made his courage shrink.

"Just uh…so you know." Spike nodded.

"So it speaks." Megatron smirked, "And out of turn."

Megatron lowered his face down to Spike and stared him in the eyes.

"It shouldn't." Megatron grinned evilly.

Spike swallowed as Megatron's red eyes flashed.

"Careful study of the infection has allowed me to determine that it is contagious to other human organisms." Soundwave went on, sounding hollow.

"Explain." Megatron said rising.

"It would appear that when the blood of this creature is mixed with the blood of other mammalian organisms, effectively they would go through a shift in genetics. Careful scans of the creature's mind has in fact displayed that certain areas of the brain are effectively walled off, while other sections of the brain, most notably the portion that houses the Id, are sensitized to an amazing degree." Soundwave explained.

"So what you're saying is this thing in effect has no conscience?" Megatron asked.

"In effect." Soundwave nodded.

"So? What's that tell us?" Starscream asked.

Megatron bristled.

"Were you a scientist once or not?" Megatron asked with disdain.

"Yes, but not a…pet psychologist." Starscream gestured towards Spike.

"Hey! Sod off!" Spike's demon flared up and shouted to Starscream.

Megatron's previous evil expression towards Spike seemed to become a small grin of satisfaction when the vampire raised his voice to Starscream.

"What it means is that he serves only his basest needs. Food, shelter, and perhaps sexual craving." Megatron explained, "Meaning that if we replicated samples of his blood, we could infect every flesh bag on this planet."

"And?" Starscream asked.

"And when they serve their more basic needs, why would they care for their energy reserves?" Megatron asked.

"They…uh…wouldn't." Starscream replied.

"VERY good!" Megatron grinned evilly, "I do believe you have half a mind in there to work with."

"Further investigation uncovered something else." Soundwave said, drawing attention back to himself, "Imbedded in his cerebral cavity was a device similar to one of Bombshell's Cerebro Shells. It seemed to be a precautionary measure that generated electricity to punish the creature. I made a full study of it after it was removed."

Spike stood up on the table.

"Wait a tick! You removed the chip!" Spike asked in awe.

Soundwave looked to Spike and his gaze seemed to bore right through him.

"Affirmative."

Spike's face was still shock, but it slowly contorted into a smile.

"WELL ALL BLOODY RIGHT, TIN WOODSMAN!" Spike laughed, "THE BIG BAD IS BACK BABY!"

Soundwave turned to Megatron.

"Clearly the subject is insane." Soundwave stated.

"Clearly." Megatron explained, "And speaking out of turn again."

"Sod off." Spike mouthed off, feeling damned invincible again now that the chip was gone.

"I have no idea what that means, but I'll take it to be an insult." Megatron growled, "And Megatron is not insulted."

"Well I'm sorry ya big git. I'm just damned happy I got rid of that piece of hardware in my brain. Now when I get back to my dimension I can give the Slayer and her little Scoobies exactly what they deserve. Heh. And I can feed again. Oh man! I can't wait!" Spike laughed and danced; oblivious to Megatron raising his arm, virus be damned, "All I need now is to get that bloody Matrix thing so I can get off this rock."

At that Megatron lowered his fusion cannon.

"You seek the Creation Matrix?" Megatron asked, "Why?"

Spike stopped laughing and turned to Megatron.

"Well…uh…since it looks like I'm not going anywhere…I need it for a weapon." Spike said, "Need to just kill whoever has it and head back to my reality and use it for a super…weapon….to be used against…why are you laughing?"

The three large Decepticons bellows of amusement rumbled the room as they looked down at Starscream.

"YOU? YOU kill Optimus Prime and take the Matrix! That's hilarious!" Starscream snickered.

"Quite laughable." Megatron said, regaining his composure.

"Why's it so bloody funny? I've killed two Slayers in my time!" Spike shouted, "I'm a bad son of a bitch, I am!"

"Yes, and unless you have an incredible amount of strength to go with that small form, I don't imagine you'll accomplish much against my counterpart." Megatron smirked broadly.

"He's…your size then?" Spike asked.

Megatron burst out in laughter again.

"Right then." Spike muttered, "Bollocks. There goes the bloody multiverse."

"Multiverse?" Soundwave asked, "As in the harmonic linkages of connected universes held together by the gravitational pull of itself: something so massive that the gravity of its sum/total reaches past dimensional curtains?"

Spike gazed at the large blue robot.

"Uh…yeah." Spike said, confused, "That whole big thing there? It's gonna be destroyed…I mean eventually."

"Destroyed by what?" Starscream asked.

"Big high up demon lord who figures its best to rip apart reality instead of lettin' it be bloody real." Spike replied.

"Nonsense." Megatron replied, "Nothing is that powerful."

"Yeah, I reckon you'd say that, but when he comes knocking on your door…and I imagine that'd be soon…you'll believe it." Spike scoffed.

Soundwave studied Spike.

"Based upon pupil dilation, body posture, and sub-telepathic scans as this organism is immensely difficult to try and read…I calculate a eighty seven percent chance that this entity is telling the truth." Soundwave stated.

"What!" Megatron and Starscream bellowed at once.

"Were respiration and cardiovascular functions present, said probability would be higher." Soundwave admitted.

"Are you sure?" Megatron asked, "Just based on his comments you can deduce that?"

Soundwave looked in Megatron's eyes.

"When have I failed you?" he asked.

Megatron paused and let it sink in.

"And he needs the Matrix as a weapon against this thing." Starscream noted, "That sounds like the legends of—"

"BE QUIET!" Megatron roared, "THAT IS JUST A LEGEND!"

Megatron quickly composed himself.

"If this is true, it throws all of my plans into disarray." Megatron mused aloud, "We need…to summon an army."

"Uh." Spike said, raising a hand, "Thing's minions blew a few good chunks out of my earth, mate. Way I hear this fella himself can snuff suns with the snap of a finger. Not that I mind that being a vampire and all, but you know…not really many armies that can stand up to that."

"Yet it fears the Matrix." Megatron said looking to Spike, "The Matrix can kill it? A simple temporary alliance with Prime when this thing attacks our world would repel it then."

"Well….it's not so much the Matrix as the Matrix with tons of other things put together. Like I said, super weapon." Spike mentioned, "I need to get that and then head back home and then maybe me and mine got a shot at killing the big nasty blighter."

Soundwave cocked his head.

"He speaks true."

"Thanks mate." Spike nodded in his direction.

"How do you plan on getting back there?" Megatron asked.

"Not a blessed clue." Spike admitted, "That part wasn't covered in the brochure. All I know is that the Matrix is what I'm here to get and I got a good idea of where it is."

"Inside Optimus Prime." Starscream muttered.

"Bugger. It's not like I could get it then. I mean I'd have to be your size to—"

Spike smirked.

"So a minute ago, you said a TEMPORARY alliance with this Prime fella? Take it you don't like him much?" Spike asked.

Megatron thought back to all the battles. Raging fires around them. Transformers exploding in battle. Torrents of water washing them away in battle. And yet he remained. He dogged Megatron.

"Not much, no." Megatron growled.

"So then….you wouldn't be too saddened if he was offed?" Spike asked.

"He'd practically cheer." Starscream added.

Spike produced a cigarette and lit it.

"Then I got a deal for you." Spike said, inhaling and looking at Megatron, "You kill this Prime fella and get me the Matrix and I head home and save your big shiny asses."

"And?" Megatron asked.

"And I save your asses." Spike muttered, "You always bargain like this?"

"The Creation Matrix is no mere toy, flesh bag." Megatron glowered, "It is the entire symbol of the Autobot resistance against the Decepticon empire. It is where they find their strength and will to keep fighting despite not being warriors. I'll be glad to see it go and help stop something that may threaten my reign."

Megatron knelt and looked in Spike's eyes.

"Though there is something else you could give me." The Decepticon leader stated, "Or I could take it. Either way."

"And what's that?" Spike asked.

"Samples of your blood. Even after sending the Matrix off with you and crushing Prime, there will be resistance to my rule and acquisition of Energon. A sample of your blood could be engineered into a virus to make humanity care less whether or not I take their reserves." Megatron explained.

"Deal." Spike said.

Megatron stood and glared.

"Pathetic heroism! You will help me or…did you just agree to my terms?" Megatron asked, a little dumbfounded.

Spike chuckled.

"Well yeah, I'm no hero mate. I'm evil." Spike laughed.

Megatron smiled.

"Then we're all in same frame of mind. Excellent." Megatron smirked, "Soundwave, alert the rest of the Decepticons. We're forming a strike force."

"As you command, Megatron." Soundwave said, exiting the room, huge metal doors sliding to the sides for him.

Megatron soon followed.

"Starscream, entertain our guest." Megatron grinned.

"What! Why me!" Starscream shrieked in defiance.

"Because I told you to." Megatron said as he exited, doors slamming shut behind him.

Starscream glowered.

"Because I tell you to. Do this. Do that." Starscream said through gritted teeth, "One day Megatron…one day."

"Eh, I feel your pain mate." Spike said, leaping down from the table and landing in a crouch.

"What would you know, flesh bag?" Starscream turned and looked down at the vampire who came up to his ankle.

"I know a right wanker when I see one." Spike replied, "Thinks he's so bloody good, ordering you around, acting like he's just the bloody cock of the walk. And the guy had a huge forehead. That's just indicative of an arse."

"I have no idea what you just said." Starscream replied.

Spike rolled his eyes.

"Let me try again then." Spike said, "You two used to be close right? Enjoyed each other's company? Went out and raised a good bit of havoc together?"

Starscream slowly nodded.

"Then, THEN, he does something. Something that basically changes and sets the tone of your relationship forever. He changes right? Suddenly, he's too good for you and puts you down and forgets the good old days." Spike said, "Am I warm?"

Starscream nodded again.

"He made me believe in this." Starscream said, gesturing to the purple insignia on his wing, "He made me believe and then he treated me like garbage. I looked up to him. I admired him. And he..."

Starscream looked down, closing his eyes before opening them again.

"How do you know?" the Decepticon asked.

"Been there, done that. Hey, look at it this way. 'Least he's not all weepy and sorry for the shitty things he's done." Spike said.

"Primus! I couldn't stand that." Starscream chuckled, "I'd have to kill him."

Starscream's eyes flashed red.

"Actually that's not too bad in the long run."

Spike chuckled.

"Oh, I like you."

Later…

"So what are we doing here….here?" Kickback asked his fellow Insecticons as they entered the war room.

"I have no idea….idea." Shrapnel replied.

"I think—"Bombshell began, before getting smacked in the back of the head.

"Insecticons…believing they can think?" the jet Skywarp chuckled.

"What's next? Autobots who think they can fight?" Thundercracker replied.

"What's the point? Why are we here?" Dirge asked.

"Primus, not this again. He's such a downer." Thrust said to Ramjet.

"This better be good. We were having the time of our lives out on the highway." Motor Master bellowed, folding his arms.

"Yeah! Woooh!" Breakdown added, laughing.

"All will be explained in time." Soundwave stated, "Megatron has something he wants to say."

"Well THAT'S something new….new." Bombshell sighed.

"Shut your stinkin' trap!" Blitzwing shouted, "Megatron's our leader!"

"Oh? Then why did you try to revolt against him….him?" Shrapnel asked.

"You're one to talk!" Astrotrain butted in, "That was a long time ago! And who hasn't revolted at one point or another!"

"Ahem." Megatron said, walking between Astrotrain and Shrapnel with a scowl.

They both stood at attention. That made Megatron smile. They were after all his soldiers.

"Decepticons…I have grievous news. Our way of life may be coming to an end." Megatron stated, "We have reports from a…reliable source that a being on indescribable power is about to enter this reality. In order to quell it we need to the Creation Matrix."

"But that's…that's in Optimus Prime." Skywarp stated.

Megatron glared.

"Be quiet."

Skywarp immediately shut up.

"In order to get the Matrix, we are going to have to attack the Autobots and kill Optimus Prime. We have to take the Matrix from his broken shell. In order to do that, we are going to require a strike force to attack the newly constructed Autobot City. We must strike and strike hard and fast and mercilessly. Many of you may not come back from this, but you will have died in the glorious pursuit of the Decepticon way of life! Could you ask for more?"

Megatron turned away and paced across the room.

"I would not throw our lives away so recklessly. If I did not believe you were up to the task I would not conceive of this attack. Despite our conflicts in the past, each Decepticon here has proved his mettle a thousand times over. You are the finest group I have ever served with. We either attack now or wait for our way of life to be destroyed. We wait for extinction. Do you want that!" Megatron asked.

"No!" a resounding shout went around the room.

"Do you want everything we've worked on for millions of years to be thrown away!" Megatron asked.

"NO!" a louder response issued forth.

"Will you fight and die and destroy for the GLORY of the Decepticon Empire!" Megatron asked.

"YES!" a roar issued forth.

Megatron smiled. So easy to manipulate. So easy.

A half an hour later, the Decepticons plus Spike were gathered on the cliff side outside and above water. Spike was insanely grateful it was night. He smirked.

"This gonna be bad?" he asked Starscream, "Real fight? Back against the wall? Nothin' but fists and fang?"

"We don't have fangs…well Ravage does." Starscream pondered, "Yes."

"Right then." Spike smirked.

Megatron stood in front of the assemblage and paused. He had an odd feeling. Like someone had walked over his grave; like the twinge of dread. He shook his head. Such feelings were for lesser Decepticons. He turned to them and grinned.

"Decepticons!" Megatron shouted, "SCRAMBLE!"

To Spike's shock, several of the giant mechanical warriors transformed into jets or helicopters or just rose into the air. Beside him, Starscream was no different becoming fighter jet. The cockpit opened.

"Well flesh bag, what are you waiting for?" Starscream's voice shouted, "Get in!"

Spike smirked and leapt into the cockpit.

"Now this, is bleedin' cool." Spike chuckled.

.

The battle was fierce. Above, the Decepticon jets flew and fired Null Rays and dropped Cluster bombs. On the ground, Autobots were blown backwards by the immense explosions and roughly collapsed to the ground. The jets chuckled as they flew, soon to be pursued by more jets. Autobot jets.

"I'm on it!" Slingshot shouted as he rocketed after the Decepticons.

"Slingshot! Wait!" Silverbolt, leader of the Aerial Bots shouted to him.

But he'd have nothing to do with it and followed the Decepticons, firing plasma bursts at them. One connected with Starscream's wing and made him dive low, Spike screaming the whole way as he barrel rolled to the side to escape the jaws of a huge, metal Tyrannosaurus.

"Me Grimlock say you get back here!" the Tyrannosaurus roared.

Starscream shot straight up in the air, nearly crashing into Silverbolt and effectively putting more space between the Aerial Bots and Slingshot.

"That was bloody close!" Spike shouted.

"In more ways than one!" Starscream shouted back, going into a nosedive and rocketing over Slingshot, "You shot me! Try it again Autobot scum!"  
"You're on Starscream!" Slingshot replied, firing more plasma bolts at Starscream.

"You know what to do Skywarp." Starscream said.

"Do I ever!" Skywarp replied….before becoming covered in a purple glow and disappearing.

He reappeared right behind Slingshot.

"Now I see you—" Skywarp said, firing everything he said at Slingshot's wings.

Slingshot roared in pain and went into a nosedive.

"Now I don't." Skywarp chuckled.

He got more plasma fire on him for his trouble.

"You shouldn't have done that Skywarp!" Silverbolt shouted as he fired on the Decepticon.

"Aww, blow it out your afterburner!" Skywarp said, teleporting away again.

That put Silverbolt on a collision course with the Triple-Changer known as Blitzwing.

"Surprise!" Blitzwing said, transforming from plane mode to tank mode in an instant and slamming into Silverbolt with extreme force, sending them both tumbling to the earth below. Silverbolt crashed messily while Blitzwing landed on his feet, having transformed into robot mode.

"Jesus! Is it always this fun!" Spike asked.

"Usually!" Starscream cackled.

On the ground, Megatron and Optimus Prime strained against one another, eyes glaring at one another.

"You shouldn't have come here Megatron!" Prime growled, his eyes glowing blue.

"You shouldn't have been constructed!" Megatron glared back.

No quarter was given and none was asked. The two immortal enemies were locked against one another in battle as was seemingly always the case. Gears and cybernetics strained against one another. Trenches were dug into the earth by their feet as they forced themselves on the other. Megatron smiled.

Then flipped backwards, transforming into a gun and landing in the hands of Soundwave. Soundwave fired on Optimus Prime.

But he didn't hit his target, for Prime had transformed into a semi truck and let the blast harmlessly careen over him. Soundwave was shocked by the sudden change and then would swallow if he could….because Prime revved his engine. And charged.

Thunder rang out as Prime collided with Soundwave sending him flying, Megatron transforming in midair and hovering there, firing at Prime.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Megatron shouted, firing burst after burst of his fusion cannon.

But Prime had returned to his robot mode and was dodging the blasts, firing some of his own from his own gun.

"Not today." Prime replied.

Megatron's face twisted in rage as he dive-bombed Prime and the two of them went tumbling. Both rose and a great clang rang out as Prime's fist found Megatron's face. Megatron struck back savagely and sent Prime stumbling back. Prime shook off the cobwebs and narrowed his eyes. He charged Megatron. Megatron charged as well.

Prime gripped Megatron's shoulder and used it to vault over his foe and dive and roll to his discarded gun. He fired.

Megatron screamed in pain as he fell forward, sparks of purple electricity arcing from his back. He roared and turned, firing at Prime.

"THAT HURT!" Megatron shouted, blasting Prime in the mid-section and sending him flying.

Prime connected with a boulder and felt he had been broken open. He felt the bleeding electrons spiral out over his hands. It was a bad wound. But he had had worse.

He threw himself into battle again, firing at Megatron as the leader of the Decepticons did likewise. Shards of metal broke away from their bodies as they fired on one another. Prime head butted Megatron as they grew close to one another. Megatron replied with an uppercut that put Prime on his back. Prime reached out for his gun, but Megatron kicked it away and putting a foot on Prime's chest; his arm mounted fusion cannon pointing at Prime's face.

"It's over Prime. Finished." He snarled as he fired.

Prime threw his head to the side, still taking searing damage but keeping his head. Blue eyes glared up at Megatron.

"Yes…it is." Prime growled, grabbing Megatron's ankle and throwing the Decepticon leader a good seventy feet.

Megatron landed in a heap and growled as he rose. He saw Prime charging him in semi mode again. He fired, roaring in pain, humiliation, and anger.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE!" Megatron shouted.

Deep within Prime, the Matrix glowed as the semi barreled towards Megatron, taking damage from his blasts as he went. He refused to stop though.

"Because I have the Power." Prime said, nearly on top of Megatron.

He instantly transformed and gripped the tractor trailer behind him. Megatron's eyes widened as he saw the look of sheer determination in Prime's face. In the next instant he saw stars as Prime slammed the trailer into him like he was swinging a baseball bat. Megatron went flying and slumped into the ground.

Prime stood and slumped over in pain. He turned to his side and sighed.

"No rest for the weary." He said, as Starscream mowed him down with his Null Rays.

Prime fell as Starscream transformed in mid-flight, ejecting what seemed like a human from his cockpit.

"Kickass!" Spike shouted as he landed in a crouch.

Starscream smirked and pointed a Null Ray at Prime's head.

"Yield?" Starscream asked.

Prime just looked at him.

"Not quite." Prime replied.

Starscream suddenly became aware of the giant shadow being cast in front of him. He turned and grimaced as he looked up. Spike did likewise. Now Starscream, Megatron and the rest were big, but this thing…this was the biggest damned robot he'd ever seen standing there, pointing a HUGE cannon at Starscream.

"YIELD?" Omega Supreme asked.

"Uh…Yes." Starscream said in fear.

Prime immensely enjoyed that scene but suddenly his glee faded. He…felt something. Something he had felt earlier in the day. Like someone was walking over his grave. He instinctively looked to the sky.

Megatron coughed and rose and was racked in pain…but he also felt the same sensations as Prime…the same sensations as earlier…like an omen. He looked to the sky and shuddered. Perhaps it was an omen.

The light of the full moon was rapidly fading from sight as something began to blot out its rays. It was like watching an eclipse. Something gigantic was moving between the earth and the moon. And it soon got the attention of everyone on the battlefield.

It was like moon had grown horns.

Omega Supreme himself stepped back in fear at the sight. Decepticon and Autobot alike had stopped fighting and were simply looking to the sky at the immensity that filled it. Starscream's jaw went slack and he would have cried in terror if he were capable.

"The legends are true." He mouthed.

Slowly, very slowly the THING above began to change shape. Mile Long arms appeared from nowhere. Legs formed and it seemed to grow larger, like it had been folded in half. Great bat wings stretched out for miles as the sky erupted in fire. It was landing.

Spike shielded his eyes from the light as the flame traveled up the form lowering into the atmosphere. A great earthquake shook the battlefield as it landed miles away, but still towered into the sky like some ancient colossus. The fire that had clung to it on entry of the atmosphere faded and revealed evil glowing green eyes, a fanged mouth and giant horns. The vampire could only marvel at what he saw as his mind refused to accept what was in front of him.

"My…God…God help us all." Spike muttered.

"What…what is it?" the normally logical Soundwave stammered in fear.

"The Dark God…the Chaos Bringer-" Starscream whimpered.

"Unicron." Prime and Megatron said as one.

An ear shattering roar shook the country side.

"I HAVE COME TO DESTROY THIS WORLD AND THE MATRIX WITH IT." Unicron bellowed, "I WAS SHOWN ITS LAUGHABLE POWER. WHAT I FEARED COULD ONLY HARM ME FROM INSIDE. I FEAR IT NO LONGER, THANKS TO MY ALLY DAHAK!"

"It's so…so big…" Optimus Prime stammered.

"ODDS AT SURVIVAL WHEN ENGAGED….0.0000 PERCENT." Omega Supreme muttered.

Then the huge robot, now utterly dwarfed by the leviathan that was Unicron strode forward.

"SATISFACTORY ODDS." Omega Supreme replied.

"He's…he's just going to fight it?" the Autobot known as Ironhide asked.

"Me Grimlock fight too!" the Tyrannosaurus roared as it charged, followed by the Dinobots.

"Prime…Prime how can we let them just go off to their deaths like that?" Ironhide asked.

"We're not. We're going with them." Prime said, striding forward.

"But we can't beat it!" Starscream shouted, "None of us can!"

Megatron walked towards, side by side with Optimus Prime.

"You really wouldn't understand Starscream." Megatron replied.

The two leaders turned and stared at one another. Megatron nodded. Prime gazed towards the immense Unicron, taking steps towards them, shaking the very earth. Then he turned back to Megatron and nodded back.

"AUTOBOTS! ATTACK!" Prime shouted.

"DECEPTICONS! SCRAMBLE!" Megatron added.

The combined forces of the Transformers, shook with fear, but that fear was abated by the bravery of their fellows and commanders.

"CONSTRUCTICONS! MERGE AND FORM DEVESTATOR! STUNTICONS! MERGE AND FORM MENASAR! COMBATICONS! MERGE AND FORM BRUTICUS!" Megatron roared.

Behind him, several Decepticon teams came together and produced a warrior greater than any of them singularly.

"AERIAL BOTS! MERGE AND FORM SUPERION! PROTECTO-BOTS! MERGE AND FORM DEFENSOR!" Optimus Prime likewise shouted.

Behind him, two teams of Autobots did the same.

Prime turned to Megatron. Megatron scowled and turned away.

"What I do now, I do for the glory of the Decepticon Empire." He growled lowly.

Then he leapt into the air and transformed into gun-mode. He fell down towards the ground and into the hands of Optimus Prime.

"Primus preserve us." Prime muttered, firing on the approaching Unicron.

"Bloody Hell." Spike barely murmured, looking upwards, "Never thought I'd go out like this."


	13. Ultimatum

So here I am with this story again. Wild huh? The next three chapters I've actually had done for quite a while. This is where the laziness comes in, but hey ya know what? Its sorta my duty to try and entertain all you folks. I mean if you take the time to read my stuff, I should take the time to try and give you something to read. Anyways, i hope you like the next few chapters. Just try to not get confused as to the Thor's. We have the Ultimate version and the version from Hercules.

* * *

"So tell me Cap," Nick Fury said as Captain America ran into the Triskellion's war room, "How's our resident thunder god doing?"

"I'm not sure to be honest." Cap replied, "I was honestly doing a little more running for my life."

"You're inspiring me to incredible levels of confidence, Captain." Fury said.

"All part of the job Nick. By the way, if Thor can't subdue that thing we're releasing the Hulk." Captain America explained.

"Did I mention the confidence thing?" Fury asked.

* * *

The mighty hammer Mjolnir rose and fell again and again, sparks flying off at the collision of uru and adamantium. Thor swung, again and again. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. Thunder roared as Thor's grim face fell upon the form of Ultron as he swung his hammer again and again. His arms burned, and his hands hurt from the strikes, but still the thunder god went on. The hammer glowed blue as electricity danced off it. Thor roared and sent his hammer crashing down towards Ultron one last time.

The impact shattered windows. It shook the island. It turned concrete to dust.

And the impact was produced by Thor's hammer being stopped by Ultron's hand.

"You're…strong…" Ultron growled, "I give you that…"

Thor pushed down.

"Glad to know." Thor grunted, sweat pouring from his brow.

"But…you are….no….VIKING!" Ultron roared, shoving Thor's hammer up and sending a crushing blow up into Thor's sternum.

Crimson came from Thor's mouth.

Ultron sent both his hands down over Thor's head, smashing him into the pavement. Thor cried out in pain as he tried to rise, blood discoloring his golden locks of hair. A kick from Ultron into Thor's face sent him flying back. This pleased Ultron.

"On another world, in another time, when I was another being…I knew of the Vikings. I knew of their ways; their culture. I knew it because I am extremely long-lived. I knew of their warrior god they named Thor. I knew of his rage, his power. I knew this all of Thor." Ultron said, bending down and lifting up Mjolnir, "And you…are…no….THOR!"

Thor's own hammer smashed into his face, sending him smashing through the main buildings of the compound and out into the Hudson River. Ultron chuckled and looked at the weapon his hand.

"In rebuilding this world it's a good thing I have a hammer." Ultron said, turning and looking towards Manhattan, "Now let's see if I can take care of the other annoyances."

* * *

Reed Richards' fingers stretched and contorted outwards, typing the keys as quickly as he could. Inwardly, he increased the size of his brain in order to better predict how the hacker breaking into his systems. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he kept typing and putting up firewall after firewall.

"Whoa." Xander said, "That guy IS fantastic."

* * *

The Thing bellowed as his slammed his rock-like fists into the head of the Sentinel and ripped it apart with a grunt. His reward was spiraling down towards the street below with the huge machine. He wasn't worried for his own safety, little fall like that is like falling onto a bed of pillows for him. But the people below…

The Sentinel exploded in flame as it hit something that wasn't there. The Thing stood in the midst of the fire and noticed he and the machine were a good twenty feet from the ground.

"Didn't think I'd be going to a barbeque." The Thing muttered, before looking up, "Guess this is Susie's doin'."

More laser blasts rained down on him, ripping his jumpsuit more, exposing his entire upper body.

"Oh, that's how it's gonna be huh?" The Thing grunted as he looked up at the Sentinels.

He immediately gripped the arm of the broken Sentinel beside him and hefted it, before throwing it into the air like a javelin. He did all this despite said arm being about fifteen feet long. He speared a Sentinel causing it fall back onto the roof of a building with an earth shattering sound.

"Heavy metal?" the Thing muttered, "Hanson's heavier than these jerks."

Many stories above him, Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman struggled to keep the Thing and the broken Sentinel from slamming into the street with her invisible force field. It was a strain but she was managing it. She just recited her multiplication tables in her head as a sort of mantra to keep her focused on the weight. She groaned as she gradually lowered the huge machine to the ground.

"Sue! Look out!" her brother Johnny shouted from behind her.

A laser blast was heading straight at her from another Sentinel.

"I've got it." Sue said, recoiling her force field from below and wrapping it around her. The blast harmlessly splashed off.

"Well then…" Johnny whistled in appreciation.

"I had to let Ben and that thing drop about ten feet to save us." Sue said through gritted teeth, "Feel free to help anytime."

"I'm on it. Bring your field down and get to the side." Johnny said, his blue eyes becoming red. A moment later his body burst into flame and he dove into the air, riding on it.

"FLAME ON!" he shouted as he flew out of the building above the robot.

Jets of intense heat plumed outwards at the machine and started melting its face. The Sentinel looked up.

"zzzzHalt!zzz" it sputtered as it fired on him.

Johnny avoided the blasts with ease and rose into the sky.

"How 'bout no?" The Human Torch asked as he dove down again, burning the front of the Sentinel, leaving a scar of slagged metal.

It kept firing on him.

"Holy crap! You're not done yet?!" Johnny asked as he chucked fireballs at the hands of the machine, hoping it stopped the rain of energy bolts aimed at him.

Well, it stopped one hand from firing them.

"Hell's bells!!! What do I have to do to put you down?" Johnny shouted as he flew away from the blasts the remaining hand discharged.

"Think like your sister." Sue shouted as the head of the Sentinel exploded.

"How'd you manage that sis?" Johnny asked.

"You think my force fields are just for protection? I can do lots with them. Not only wrap them around this guy and lift him up onto the building so no one gets injured by its fall, but also send huge spikes of pure force through its head." Sue replied, setting the Sentinel on the roof with nothing but willpower.

Johnny chuckled and then took off, "CRAP!!!"

Several Sentinels flew after him.

"Johnny!" Sue yelled, looking out the hold in the side of the building, unaware of another Sentinel lagging behind the rest and threatening to barrel into her outstretched head.

When she was pushed from the hole in the wall and went freefalling and then spinning upwards, she screamed her head off. The Sentinel roared beneath her and continued to fly down after her brother. She screamed as she saw the street so many stories below and panicked not able to put her shields up to save her.

Of course right around that time she realized she wasn't falling. That and she was in a vice-like grip. She turned her head and her jaw dropped.

"You saved me?" Sue asked.

"Well yeah, saving beautiful women from amazing heights is kind of my job." Spider-Man replied, sticking to the wall and holding Sue in place, "Just glad I came out here to get some action."

Under his mask, Peter Parker smirked.

"That and flirt with an older woman." The teenager thought.

* * *

"Get somebody out there to save Thor from drowning!" Nick Fury ordered, "I don't care if you have powers, if you don't, if that maniac out there is controlling all our machinery or not! That man will not drown!"

"I'm on it!" the Wasp shouted.

"As am I." the Scarlet Witch added, "Probability now dictates that Thor's not going to drown before we can get to him. I just hope my brother is having the same luck we are."

* * *

In the mid-west, a blur shot across the ground and easily entered another nuclear missile silo as it opened. Within seconds fingers typed on a keyboard aborting the launch of another nuclear missile.

"That's fifty seven." Quicksilver thought as he took off again as speeds beyond imagining, "Fifty eight….fifty nine…."

* * *

"Hawkeye! Get out there with the ladies! Shoot them a rope arrow or something!" Fury ordered.

"Rope arrow?" Hawkeye asked, "Do I look like some clown dressed like Robin Hood or something?"

"Do it!" Fury ordered.

"Fine. I'll do what I can." Hawkeye replied, following the Wasp and the Scarlet Witch out the door.

"Lord, Nick…I feel so useless." Iron Man replied, removing his helmet as best he could, "My power's gone, that robot Pym built can control my armor, and my buzz is coming down."

"I'll handle that, darling." The Black Widow said, handing Iron Man a bottle of Scotch.

"Good to see you're feeling better Natasha." Fury replied.

"My implants seem to be regaining some measure of control." The Widow said, "Still it's quite painful so I imagine deadening it is a priority."

"Ah alcohol." Iron Man said, taking a drink from the bottle, "The cause of and solution to all of life's problems."

"Maybe you should slow down there Tony." Fury replied.

"Nonsense. I know my limits." Iron Man said, savoring the taste, "Besides if you have planned what I think you do then I'd rather be nicely hammered while I'm being killed."

"It's not my plan." Fury replied, "It's Cap's."

"Then I suppose it's a good one." The Black Widow replied.

"Sure is. Just get little Bruce Banner a little P.O.'ed and sic him on the big bad monster like we did back against those aliens." Fury replied.

"Well then." Iron Man said ready to take another drink, "May history forgive us and may insurance cover the damages."

The Black Widow grabbed the bottle and drank deeply before he could. She needed it.

* * *

"Hey Bruce." Captain America said entering Bruce Banner's customized prison cell, complete with books, DVDs, a big screen TV, and all the comforts of home.

Banner backed up in fear.

"Oh Lord, you're not even going to—" Banner said in fear as Cap punched him in the stomach.

Banner fell to his knees and coughed.

"I'm afraid I am Bruce." Cap replied, "You hear all those explosions out there? We need your little alter-ego to come out and take care of a situation for us."

"But…" Banner said, getting kicked in the face.

"I know you're not a bad man Bruce. Selfish as hell for that stunt a few months back and maybe a little mentally unstable all things considering." Cap continued, pulling Banner up and striking his stomach again, "But not bad. In fact, you remind me a little of myself before my treatments. And maybe if the dosages had been a little differently I would have been knocking over buildings instead of you."

Banner's glasses went flying off as Cap hit him in the face.

"Cap! For God's sake!" Banner screamed.

Cap grabbed him by the shoulder.

"You listen to me Bruce and you listen good." Cap yelled, "I'm doing this for all our sakes. There's something out there that can control nuclear missiles, Sentinels, and beat Thor into the ground! Frankly, we both know there's only one creature on earth that can handle him and make the world safe and he's not a scrawny biologist with relationship issues and a healthy dose of self-loathing. CHANGE!"

Bruce's lip busted open.

"Cap, I…I can't!" Bruce muttered.

"Damn it Bruce! Be a man for once in your life!" Cap replied, backhanding Bruce into a wall.

Bruce opened his eyes and they were green. Cap backed away as muscles seemed to sprout from nowhere, ripping away his shirt and stretching and tearing his pants to incredible levels. Banner's skin began to change its hue as well….growing darker….growing gray as he gained about a foot and a half of height. Turning Banner snorted at Captain America.

No…not Banner…Banner is puny…..

"HULK IS STRONGEST ONE THERE IS!" the huge gray monstrosity in front of Cap roared.

"Here we go." Cap grimaced as the Hulk grabbed him by the throat.

"STUPID BLUE-MAN'S WORDS HURT BANNER! SO HULK HURT BLUE-MAN!" The Hulk bellowed.

"Well…ugh…I did it for a reason Hulk." Cap groaned as he felt insane amounts of pressure build up.

"BAH! HULK NOT CARE! HULK POP LITTLE BLUE-MAN'S HEAD LIKE A GRAPE!" The Hulk growled.

"Yeah well…it's about Betty." Cap coughed and sputtered.

The Hulk scoffed.

"STUPID BLUE-MAN NOT TRICK HULK THIS TIME. HULK TOO SMART FOR THAT." The Hulk chuckled angrily.

"Well….glad to know that…" Cap said close to blacking out, "Course there's a robot out there who's had his shiny metal hands all over Betty's sweet supple little body."

The Hulk dropped Cap.

"WHAT?!!!"

"You heard me Hulk. A robot that's carrying Thor's hammer around. He says Betty needs to quit wasting her time with a steroid infested freak and get a nice hard piece of metal! He said you're not man enough for her! He said he and his big robot pals all over the city are going to have a big old fashioned robot gang-bang on Betty! You gonna let him get away with that?! Huh?!!!" Cap shouted.

"RARRRRRGH!" the Hulk roared as he leapt straight up through the ceiling and out of the building, before slamming down onto the concrete out front, catching the sight of Ultron walking away towards the Hudson and Manhattan.

"STUPID ROBOT! HULK ALLLLLLLLL MAN!" the Hulk bellowed as he charged the turning Ultron.

Inside, Captain America smirked.

"An old classic never goes out of style."

* * *

"Curious." Reed said, still typing away, building new firewalls.

"What is?" Xander asked.

"Whatever's hacking into the Baxter Building seems to be on the move. And given the nature of events going on all around the city I'd say it's controlling other machines as well." Reed replied.

"Sounds like a guy my friends and me dealt with a few years ago." Xander mumbled, "And considering we've met fictional characters in the last few days it could be him."

"Curious." Reed said, "How'd you stop him?"

"What's that matter?" Xander asked.

"It may allow us to use the same tactics you used to stop him before." Reed replied, still typing away.

"Well…all I remember was some spell that Giles did to cut him off from the Net." Xander stated.

"Spells? That's ludicrous." Reed said.

"Yeah, Thought you might see it that way."

Reed's eyes widened, "Good Lord!"

"What?" Xander asked.

"Whatever this is….it's moving at hundreds of miles per hour!" Reed shouted.

Ultron slammed through several buildings before he had slowed and crashed to the pavement, hammer still in hand. The Hulk landed beside him and growled.

"STUPID ROBOT THINK HE CAN FIGHT HULK? STUPID ROBOT HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING!" Hulk shouted.

"You…punched me all the way to Manhattan?" Ultron asked, rising.

Another huge gray fist nailed Ultron in the face and sent him flying into a parked bus, shredding it in half.

"DUH!" Hulk shouted as he charged the machine.

"IDIOT!" Ultron said, swinging Mjolnir into the Hulk's jaw and sending green blood spraying out.

Another hammer strike caught the Hulk in the temple. An adamantium fist struck the Hulk as well.

"You're just some idiot monster! I'm in a body composed of an indestructible metal and am wielding a mystical weapon! And you're just some retarded ogre!" Ultron shouted as he swung Mjolnir again.

The Hulk ducked and tackled Ultron down through the streets into the sewers.

"MAYBE, BUT YOU NOT TOUCH HULK'S WOMAN!" the Hulk growled.

Ultron swung at the Hulk again, knocking him through solid cement.

"I don't want her!" Ultron shouted angrily.

The Hulk rose and tackled him through another wall.

"WHAT WRONG? STUPID ROBOT TOO SOFT?" The Hulk chuckled.

"RAAARGH!" Ultron shouted in rage and anger at the Hulk, slamming Mjolnir down over the Hulk's head, cracking his skull.

He'd just about had enough of this. The Hulk struck back again and the two titans fought back and forth, not knowing they were fighting in the foundation of a building. Each blow from the two of them shook the building and shattered glass. Each tackle broke a part of the foundation. Finally, a hammer strike met the fist of the Hulk creating what could only be termed as a shockwave. There was a rumbling and both combatants looked up in shock. And the building collapsed in on itself.

* * *

"Jesus, Mary, Mother of God!" Nick Fury shouted as he saw the building come down all the way from the Triskellion.

He turned to Captain America and shot him a hard glance with his one good eye.

"You'd better be right about this Steve, you'd better be damned right." Fury growled.

"Nick, it's either this or an entire world going up in ash if that thing launches the nukes All we can do now is get medical teams there." Cap replied.

He watched the dust from the collapse rise and his heart sank.

"And pray."

* * *

Ultron clawed his way to the surface and finally broke free of the rubble. He had lost his new hammer, but he was still in one piece. He stood and strode down the street. He had to get to the Baxter Building. That was where the weapon that would be used against his master was. That was what he had to destroy, just as he had destroyed the Hulk.

Rubble exploding outwards brought his attention back to the fallen building. Ultron growled as he saw an angry Hulk standing there amidst the rubble, green blood dripping down his gray body.

"STUPID ROBOT HIT LIKE GIRL." The Hulk grinned, before pouncing at the waiting arms of Ultron.

* * *

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" The Human Torch shouted as he doubled back towards the Baxter Building, several Sentinels on his tail firing bolts of energy at him. He was just not prepared for this. Being a super-hero sucked.

Several Sentinels exploded in mid-air behind him. Hazarding a look back he saw that at least four had holes in their mid-sections had formed and they just hovered in mid-air. No, not hovered…held. Johnny smirked.

"Way to go, sis!" he shouted.

Still several more Sentinels had gotten past the invisible force-spikes and were closing on him. He took off flying again as they pursued him. He barely dodged several blasts and sent back a few of his own. They never seemed to even slow the Sentinels down.

"SON OF A…HOW DO I HURT THEM? THIS SUCKS!" he shouted, suddenly flaring up and sending a huge stream of fire at a Sentinel, completely slagging it and making it crash into the now empty streets.

Still, he didn't get a chance to revel in his glory because there were still more on his tail. About three more. He flew as fast as he could back past the Baxter Building. The Sentinels roared after him, but they bounced off of another force-field and fell to the streets. Though they were damaged they stood back up. Sue however couldn't do anything about that. She just fell to her knees atop the Baxter Building.

"So..tired…" she said as she slumped over.

"Hey! Big guys!" The Thing said, waltzing up to the Sentinels, "Howzabout we have a go at it?"

The three Sentinels observed the Thing and each fired at him. Ben Grimm went flying and crashed into a heap, even more of his jumpsuit gone. He stood though and chuckled, taking steps that shook the streets.

"If I had wanted a kiss I woulda called yer moms!" The Thing grinned.

"Yo Thing!" Spider-Man shouted from above, "Catch!"

The Thing looked up to see the gangly little guy toss him a huge steel girder. He caught it and chuckled.

"Little guy must eat his Wheaties." He smirked, observing the weapon, "Yeah, this should do it."

The Thing charged the three Sentinels, gripping the web-line Spider-Man had attached to the girder and swung it.

"Let's chop you down a few pegs!" The Thing shouted.

The Sentinels lost their legs below the ankles and each fell. A swing here and a swing there had taken two of the heads off of the downed machines. A final swing later and the last Sentinel was headless.

"Yeah…I'm bad." The Thing chuckled.

* * *

"I don't see him!" The Wasp shouted as she flew over the water.

"I don't understand it. My hexes should have increased the probability that we'd find him." The Scarlet Witch replied, through the radio

"Crap. Think gods can drown?" Hawkeye asked over the com link.

A large hand exited the water and reached for the sky.

"Nope!" the Wasp shouted as she flew around the hand and back towards shore.

"Shoot your rope arrow!" The Scarlet Witch shouted.

"I DON'T HAVE A FRIGGIN' ROPE ARROW!" Hawkeye replied.

"Why isn't he coming out any further?" the Wasp asked.

Thor's hand just stayed there above water and never faltered.

Across town, as the Hulk and Ultron exchanged blows neither paid attention to the rubble of the building behind them. They didn't hear it shake and shudder. They didn't hear the rumbling. They didn't feel the air become ionized. They didn't see Mjolnir erupt from it and rocket into the air and across the city.

The hammer found its master, and as it did a storm that New York had never before seen came out of nowhere. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. And Thor rose from the Hudson River and looked like a…well a god enraged.

"Come Mjolnir! Let us show this dog how deadly is the wrath of a god!" Thor howled, erupting over the skyline.

"Whoa." Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch, and the Wasp all said in unison.

* * *

The Hulk stopped punching and looked at the sky, squinting in the rain.

"Stupid Hippie not look like Hippie anymore." The Hulk stated.

"What did you say?" Ultron demanded.

A huge bolt of lightning struck Ultron and exploded gas mains down the block, blowing the Hulk down the street. In a crater, the smoking Ultron knelt. He slowly stood and looked to the sky. Mjolnir leveled him and sent him further down the street than the Hulk had fallen. And the hammer again found its master, flying back to him.

Thor flew over the Hulk and slammed his hammer into Ultron, again sending him flying.

"NOT A GOD? NOT A VIKING? IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID?!!!" Thor bellowed like thunder, "BROTHER, YOU MADE A MISTAKE!"

Ultron rose and got another bolt of lightning to the chest, sending him flying again. Thor strode towards him, lightning blowing out street lights behind him as he walked. He raised his hammer and prepared to strike Ultron again but found he could not move his hammer forward. Thor grunted and strained but could not strike.

"Stupid Hippie." The Hulk said, hand enclosed around the head of Thor's hammer, "STUPID ROBOT IS HULK'S!"

Thor merely fired lighting from the head of Mjolnir and fried the Hulk's hand. A quick swipe later knocked the Hulk on his back.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO BANNER!" Thor shouted as he blasted the Hulk with a burst of lightning that was even larger than the one that had hit Ultron.

This gave Ultron the perfect opportunity to slam both of his fists into either side of Thor's head. The thunder god roared out in pain and dropped face first. Powerful though he was, he was already injured and Ultron was no weak foe.

The Hulk grunted and rose: charred flesh already healing.

"HIPPIE'S OUT…NOW YOU GET SMASHED BY HULK!" the Hulk roared.

"I think not." Ultron replied, slamming his adamantium fist into the burned flesh of the Hulk's chest.

The Hulk sputtered green blood. Ultron very much enjoyed the look on the Hulk's face as he recoiled his hand from the behemoth's chest and showed him the green blood that covered his arm up to the elbow. The Hulk promptly fell back onto the ground, completely still save for the slight rising and falling of his mighty chest.

"Now then. Where was I?" Ultron said, turning and striding down the street.

* * *

"Ya know, maybe we should change our name to the Fantastic Five?" Johnny Storm said as the flame around him faded, "We make a good team Spidey."

"Long as I get paid, I'm cool." Spider-Man replied, "That and I'd like a good umbrella."

"Rain's stoppin' again. Freaky weather." The Thing replied.

"The weather isn't the only freaky thing." Sue pointed out.

Down the street, walking past the wreckage of the Sentinels was Ultron. He was covered in scratches and seemed slightly damaged but otherwise fine. He walked towards the foursome with a look of pure rage on his otherwise unemotional face.

"I call dibs." The Thing replied, walking towards the machine.

Before he got close however, he fell in a heap on the street.

"Ben!" Sue shouted, locking Ultron in place with a force field.

Spider-Man was the first to get next to him.

"He's out cold!" Spider-Man shouted.

"Yes, he is." Ultron replied, his eyes flashing brightly.

Spider-Man's danger sense went off, throbbing in his head but it did him no good. The strobes of Ultron's eyes…they made him…so damned tired. Spider-Man likewise fell to the ground.

"What the?!!" Johnny asked.

"It's a program I discovered in my walk over here that affects the brain of the human body and produces sleep in their bodies." Ultron said, his eyes strobing brightly again and making Johnny pass out, "I call it the Encyphylo beam."

Sue strained to stay awake, trying to block out the flashes. Her field was fading and not even mentally reciting the multiplication tables could help her now. And she was so tired before. Now, it was like being immersed in a warm bath. She couldn't stop it. She tried, but she too fell.

Ultron merely stepped over their unconscious bodies and looked up at the hole in the side of the building.

"Well this doesn't take a genius." Ultron said, as he struck the building with his hand….then he did it with the other hand. Then a foot struck the building. Then another. Ultron was climbing the Baxter Building.

Ultron walked down the hallways and found his mental commands didn't pry the doors open. Resistance. This was fascinating. Richards had managed to block out his control with a self-adapting firewall it would seem. Well…matter over mind. His adamantium body tore through the doors like paper and he strode into what could only be the laboratory of Reed Richards. Large, spacious, and not without hundreds of devices around. Still, a bit sterile. He walked along and stopped, turning his head suddenly. He saw someone ducking behind Richards' desk.

"You may as well come out. I know you're there." Ultron commanded.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Xander Harris rose from behind the desk. He swallowed hard as he looked at Ultron.

"Oh crap. Ultimate Ultron." Xander said, his knees shaking.

"The whelp." Ultron chuckled, "You don't recognize me do you?"

"Well actually I kind of do….you're Ultron." Xander replied.

"And much, much more. You'd remember me as Moloch." Ultron explained, "My master told me I would have my vengeance on you. Then I will take it on the Slayer. And then Willow."

Xander swallowed again.

"Not going to happen." Xander replied.

"Oh? You've lost you stupid little boy. I've crushed the mightiest champions of this world beneath my heel. I control all the machinery. And I'm in Reed Richards' laboratory to destroy the weapon you have been sent here to collect. Tell me, what could stop me?" Ultron asked.

Xander pulled a gun from below Ultron's line of sight and fired.

"The weapon." He replied.

Red light hit Ultron and didn't even budge him. He chuckled.

"That's not the weapon." Ultron cackled.

Arms snaked around his ankles and jerked him off his feet.

"You're right. It isn't." Mr. Fantastic said, backing away.

Ultron rose and roared.

"Foolish. Very foolish. I'll burst your skull for that." Ultron growled.

"Will you?" Reed asked.

"Yes. I'll…something's wrong." Ultron stated, a reddish hue covering his body.

Reed looked to Xander and Xander nodded, running towards a control panel like Reed had instructed him to do.

"What have you done?" Ultron demanded, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Well, Xander and I had a little talk about you. Of course we weren't sure you'd be the one to come after us or even that you'd be…this…but the principle would be similar. We talked about how you were beaten years ago. Cut off from the internet, cut off from your control of machines by a spell. Now I don't believe in magick, but science…science I am God in." Reed smiled, "Now your powers MAY be rooted in magick, but they still operate through science. So I produced a little force field about you that is canceling out the electrical impulses that you send out to control computer systems and separating you from something you're so immersed in like the internet must be akin to a lobotomy."

"RARRRGH!" Ultron charged in a blind rage.

"Xander now!" Reed shouted.

Ultron tackled Reed Richards and slammed him into a wall, growling more like an animal than a machine. Meanwhile, Xander had flipped a switch on a large machine showering the room in torrent of reddish light. Ultron turned back and saw some sort of portal filling the center of the room. Then his eyes traveled down….and saw that Reed Richards' arms were snaked across the room, coiled and pulled tight a good seventy feet away.

"Have you ever played with a slingshot?" Reed asked.

Physics kicked in and Ultron and Reed snapped towards the portal, Ultron screaming as he entered it and went flying into multi-colored space. Reed merely closed his eyes and snapped back through the other side of the portal before reaching over with an uncoiled arm, switching the machine off.

"Hope he likes the Negative Zone." Reed smirked.

Xander smirked back.

"Dude you rule." He said.

"Of course I do. I'm the weapon Q sent you here for aren't I?" Reed winked.


	14. Greece Is The Word

"Now this is cool!" Buffy laughed.

Being a few thousand feet in the air does that to people.

"Glad someone's enjoying this." Ioulus muttered, eyes closed tightly.

"Oh come on. It's no worse than a plane…not that you know what one of those is as they haven't been invented yet." Buffy mused, "Of course riding on a horse with wings? Priceless. I feel like She-Ra."

"She would make a potent Valkyrie." Balder noted from his own steed.

"She doesn't need the encouragement." Hercules smiled.

"When do we touch the ground again? WHEN?!!!" Ioulus shouted from his own winged horse.

Hercules looked down to Athens.

"Now!" he said, pulling the reigns on his horse and skydiving.

* * *

Below, Sarumon watched with Orc lieutenants all around. He smirked evilly.

"The fools. Have they forgotten that our master will intervene if they take action?" he said aloud.

An Orc looked prepared to speak. Sarumon shot him a glare.

"That was a rhetorical question, oaf." The white wizard replied.

The Orc nodded and crouched down out of the wizard's sight.

"All the same, prepare the forces. We should indulge ourselves before Dahak himself arrives." Sarumon smiled.

* * *

One by one, the winged steeds of the Aesir swooped down just above the city. Arrows and spears of light immediately flew to the ground and eviscerated the Orcs in the streets. Humans held captive in their death camps cheered as they saw the awesome forces coming to their aid. The cheers fell silent when huge shadows loomed over them.

Boulders were hurled at the winged steeds, knocking a few of the gods from the air. Hercules grimaced when he saw what threw them. They were four giants, each at least forty feet high with hoofed feet, a singular horn on their crowns, and one great eye in their bestial foreheads.

"What in Tartarus are those?" Ioulus asked.

"What he said." Buffy added.

"Those are Cyclops." Hercules noted.

"I've never seen a Cyclops that looks like that!" Ioulus said.

"That's because they aren't from our world." Hercules said, as he urged his stallion onward.

Swooping forward, the greatest hero of Greece flew directly at one of the hideous roaring giants. The Cyclops bellowed gleefully and struck out, grabbing Hercules from his steed and squeezing him in its palm. The giant laughed and began to crush Hercules.

Of course when Hercules flexed and the creature's hand snapped back open, there was Tartarus to pay.

The Cyclops fell to the ground with Hercules on its chest staring up at the others.

"Alright, so who's the idiot who thought they could beat me by siccing giants on me?" the godling asked, "Are they forgetting who I am?"

The Cyclopes roared and advanced upon the godling standing atop their fallen brother. Hercules just smiled and his entire body started to arc electricity.

"Sorry. Forgot who I was talking to." Hercules smiled.

The new god erupted in lightning and struck each and every Cyclops in the knees, savagely burning their legs and making them drop to the streets. The giants roared in pain, as Hercules reformed and casually walked past them.

He blocked the blow of a cave troll and sent it spiraling into the sky, as arrows of light showered the fallen Cyclopes ending their lives quickly and mercifully.

"What else do you have, wizard?" Hercules asked.

Looking through his crystal ball, Sarumon sneered.

"Send in the second wave."

* * *

"Oh crap!" Buffy shouted, "Hercules!"

The godling turned towards Buffy but was met by an ominous shadow lunging down at him. Within seconds, his head and shoulders were engulfed by huge jaws. Before being bitten, Hercules noted that it was some kind of wingless dragon that attacked him. From her steed, Buffy couldn't tell what kind of dinosaur it was but she figured it for a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Of course it wasn't, it was smaller and three-fingered instead of having the tell tale two of the T-Rex. It was an Allosaurus, or to be more exact, it was Gwangi.

And Gwangi's jaws were forced open by Hercules after only instants of being bitten down on, any wounds already fading away. Hercules then merely leaned back, floating in the air, before hitting the dinosaur with a punch, knocking it unconscious and breaking its jaw at once.

"Wow." Buffy mused as she flew over the city, "I really could have used him when we fought the Mayor. This guy's a smacker down of giant monsters."

"CAW!"

Buffy turned and shrieked as something gigantic gripped against her steed and sending her falling off. As she fell, she noted it was a giant bird, a vulture, with…two heads? Whatever it was, Balder was already in pursuit of it, firing beams of light that scorched it. It had taken the Slayer mere instants to form those thoughts. She now formed thoughts that basically told her no one was close enough to save her. She was going to die….AGAIN.

She didn't hit the stone streets though. No, she hit something softer. Something that swirled around her and gripped her. When she regained her wits she saw that she was in a hand. Furthermore she was face to face with a giant ape.

* * *

"The Roc is down!" Balder shouted to Ioulus, "How's Hercules doing?"

Ioulus watched his partner. A giant land bird of some kind was dead at his feet, just as he was swinging some sort of two headed wolf around by the tail, slamming it into the horns of a four legged dragon of some kind as big as an elephant. The giant crab was incinerated by energy flying from the god's hands in the next instant. After that, a large bronze minotaur crumpled when he hit it.

"He could be doing better." Ioulus replied.

Plumes of flame covered Balder and made Ioulus wince away as a great flying dragon swooped past them. Balder's winged stallion neighed and burned as it fell to the ground with its rider still on it. The dragon turned around in mid air and started towards Ioulus.

"Oh for the love of the gods—" Ioulus groaned as he desperately tried to both control his steed and fish out some of the Aesir arrows.

The dragon roared as it flew faster towards him, flapping its wings and outstretching its claws. It wasn't going to enflame him. It was going to eat him. Probably his horse too.

Ioulus swallowed and let an arrow of light fly. It grazed the dragon's back, making the creature hiss in pain. But still it came. Another hit it square in the head, knocking it off balance for a moment. But still it came. Ioulus fired another arrow that missed and another that grazed its underbelly. The jaws of the dragon opened as it neared its target, wings no longer flapping, but gliding and producing a dive-bombing sound.

"Why did it have to be resistant to magick?" he complained as it neared him.

Its head exploded in a burst of light as Balder flew up beside him and the dead dragon descended.

"Resistant doesn't mean impervious my friend, something I am only too aware of." The light god smiled.

"Could you have cut that any closer?!" Ioulus shouted.

* * *

Why the hell did she always end up in situations like this?

That's what Buffy had been asking herself in those precious moments as a giant gorilla held her in its hand like a toy.

"Why me? Why doesn't Dawn ever become King Kong's Buffy Doll?" Buffy sighed as the huge ape looked at her, mouth opening and closing as if in study.

It held her close to its face and sniffed her, hot monkey breath showering Buffy.

"Okay, that's it." Buffy said, striking out with a free arm and nailing the ape in the nose hard.

The startled giant released her, and she fell a good twenty feet to the ground in a crouch. Then Buffy immediately realized her mistake. She had just picked a fight with someone who outweighed her by several tons.

"Where is Hercules when you REALLY need him?" she asked herself, as the giant ape looked down upon her.

It reached out again. Buffy rolled to the side.

"Uh uh. No more Malibu Buffy time for you!" she quipped.

She cart wheeled beneath the great ape's legs, making it bend over and look between them as she went. So Buffy did the only logical thing. She tackled Kong's head. The surprise of being tackled caught the creature off balance and made it fall over its own feet. This made Buffy feel especially good because her whole body ached after tackling it. She had to get away and make sure she never picked a fight with another giant gorilla as long as she lived.

Something caught her eye for the first time. Well, not the first time, but in the panic she hadn't put two and two together. Kong was chained by the ankles and wrists with only enough slack to let him move around a bit. Buffy took in her surroundings.

"This is like a big pen. A big holding pen." She noted.

A few curious sounds made her turn her attention from Kong and look behind her. Chained to the opposite side of the pen were two other large apes, but these notably smaller than Kong, only around ten feet or so. One of them was covered in white fur. She looked at the smaller apes and to Kong again.

"They're his babies." She said as realization hit her.

An arrow also hit her. Right in the shoulder. She grunted and dropped.

"Indeed they are." A voice said.

Buffy gazed up at…some kind of demon. He was tall and dark skinned, ugly with horns protruding from his forehead and a swinging tail. In one hand he held a crossbow. In another…well he was one handed. It had apparently been cut off and replaced with the tip of a trident.

"The big one…he obeys when I hurt them. He's enough of a parent not to risk the life of his children. So powerful once, now so easily broken when I make one of his pups scream." The demon chuckled, "I love a good scream. Perhaps you'll give me one."

Buffy stood slowly and jerked the arrow from her shoulder.

"Not…real…likely." She growled.

The demon just shrugged and fired another bolt. Which Buffy caught.

"You're quick. You might even prove to be a challenge. Kalibos always enjoys a good challenge." The demon sneered, dropping the crossbow.

"They wouldn't obey you would they? Not like the others, so you had to hurt them. I don't care if they are ten feet tall, they're still just babies." Buffy growled, holding her shoulder a bit, "They're innocent and I'd help anybody…anything that needs it if they're innocent. I think I can feel the fire coming back in me now, because I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass. Things like you….they remind me of why I do what I do."

"And what is that?" Kalibos asked, sneering.

"I slay."

Kalibos lunged at the side with her injured shoulder. Buffy spun away and caught the arm with the trident before twisting it and delivering a kick that sent Kalibos flying. She smirked as Kalibos looked up in rage. She jangled the keys she had grabbed from his belt.

"I'm going to let them go after I'm done with you." She said matter of factly.

"They'll kill you." The demon growled.

"I don't think so. He could have killed me anytime he wanted." Buffy said, shrugging at Kong, "He didn't. I guess he likes blondes."

Kalibos merely chuckled, distracting her as his good hand reached for the whip on his belt. It cracked out at amazing speeds. But Buffy had been ready and with a stinging sensation, it wrapped about her forearm.

"Like I didn't see you going for that." She rolled her eyes, "Goodnight Mr. Calabash, wherever you are."

Kalibos didn't understand her meanings, but he didn't have much time to think about them either. She had swung him hard, sending him flying. And in one grave instant, he realized where he had landed. Horror filled his eyes as the massive face of Kong looked down on him almost with a smile of satisfaction. The last sight Kalibos ever saw was a massive thumbed foot coming down at him.

* * *

"Need a hand Herc?" Ioulus asked, as he and Balder set down beside the god, striding towards Sarumon's makeshift fortress at the palace.

"Nope." Hercules said, breaking off the stinger of one of the giant scorpions.

"You're doing quite well for yourself." Balder noted.

"Well I've been killing monsters since I was a baby. Literally." Hercules said as he cast the scorpion to the side.

"Our forces are quelling Sarumon's Orcs and beasts at all sides. He was not prepared for an attack by gods." Balder explained.

"He was probably expecting Dahak to step in. I'm really hoping he doesn't." Ioulus shivered.

"I don't think he will." Hercules said, "As powerful as he was, as powerful as Q said he has become I think he still fears the Creation Stone. The Paints as well."

"Well yeah, considering we could make hundreds of Stones with the Paints. Hey…that's good." Ioulus smiled.

"Looks like that 21st Century thinking is catching on." Hercules smiled, barreling past ghouls and walking skeletons.

"I guess we should follow him." Ioulus mused.

Balder tossed him a fallen skeleton's sword.

"Take that. We'll need you to protect yourself. I doubt Sarumon is so lightly guarded." Balder said.

Ioulus nodded.

The fist of Hercules collided with the palace doors, sending them off their hinges. He strode in, battering any Orc that dared approach. Balder did likewise, as Ioulus managed to slay a few with his newfound weapon. Surprisingly, resistance was low.

"I don't like this." Ioulus mused.

The trio crept on, passing a row of statues. Some were men, some looked to be Orcs.

"I REALLY don't like this." Ioulus said again.

A rattling made the human warrior jump and the two gods pause.

"That sounded like a serpent." Balder stated.

"Yes it did. A serpent….statues." Hercules thought aloud before slight panic lit up on his features, "Ioulus, close your eyes."

"What is it?" Ioulus asked.

"Remember the She Demon?" Hercules said.

Ioulus closed his eyes tight.

"Not another Gorgon! I hate being turned to stone!" he whined.

"What of us?" Balder asked.

"We're gods. A Gorgon's gaze shouldn't affect us like mortals. In theory." Hercules said.

"In theory?" Balder questioned.

"In theory?! IN THEORY?!" Ioulus shouted.

"Shh!" Hercules replied, "Yes in theory, though there were plenty of gods who feared my sister Athena's shield the Aegis."

The rattling sounded again.

Balder took Ioulus's arm and guided him along as Hercules was ever watchful for the Gorgon, wherever it may be. Passing the stone statues of men and Orcs, they finally came to what appeared to be a throne room. Hercules grimaced as he saw Sarumon sitting on the throne, Orcs to his side, a large saber-toothed cat lying at the foot of the throne. It roared. Hercules was unimpressed.

"Your days of terrorizing this world are over, wizard. We've sent out the word. The gods are repelling your forces all over the world. It's about time too." Greece's greatest hero said, folding arms.

"Mind your tongue, godling. The actions that your brethren have taken have doomed this world to destruction. My master shall be along anytime now, and I imagine he will be most satisfied to destroy his old enemies." Sarumon smiled.

"He won't come. Not while we hold the things he fears. If he was really so anxious to destroy us he would have done it the moment we destroyed the Balrog." Hercules answered.

"What's going on?" Ioulus asked.

"Shh." Balder replied.

"You're quite sure of yourself aren't you?" Sarumon asked.

"Completely." Hercules nodded.

"Then perhaps the great Dahak will not come after all." Sarumon stated glumly, but then, smiling, "Not that we need him to."

An arrow whizzed out of nowhere striking Balder in the shoulder. He roared in pain and dropped to the floor.

"M-mistletoe." He murmured in pain.

"Balder?! Herc?! What's going on?" Ioulus said, opening his eyes.

Hercules turned.

"Ioulus! Close your eyes!" the god shouted.

Ioulus did as he was bidden, just as soon as a large trunk of a snake wrapped about his body and twisted him about. He didn't see the bow in her hand, having shot Balder with his one weakness, nor the hood she wore over her face so that Sarumon and his forces in the throne room were not accidentally petrified. But he did hear the sweet as honey voice.

"Open your eyes, brave one, and peer beneath my hood. Look upon me. Look upon Medusa." She crooned.

"Uh uh. No thanks." Ioulus said, as his sword dropped to the floor.

"Drop him." Hercules ordered, hands lighting up in fire.

He was struck from behind though, by a bolt of fire. The new god dropped to his knees, clutching his burning back.

"Someone has overstepped his bounds." Sarumon said walking down the steps from his throne, "It would seem you have exhausted much of your power going through my forces. How sad to have come this far, only to fail."

Hercules turned and lobbed a fireball at the wizard.

"I'm not dead yet." He cried.

Sarumon blocked the blast with his staff.

"Yet." He grimaced, "Zenobia, fetch."

With that the saber-toothed cat roared and leapt at the godling. It tackled him to the floor and sank its giant fangs into Hercules' skin. He cried out at the pain, which mere moments ago wouldn't have hurt him in the least. It was true then. He was losing power. Still, as little more than a youth, he had killed the Nemean Lion; a terrible creature whose body was invulnerable to harm. It was worse than this thing. Much worse.

Hercules snapped the neck of the creature in an instant and stood, blocking a sword shot from an Orc with his gauntlet, before spinning and clothes lining it off its feet with power sufficient to crack the marble floor. Another Orc came, followed by another. They were incinerated before they could even attack.

Hercules looked over to Balder, the Norse god's hands still smoking with energy. Veins had become visible all over his body. Sweat poured from him. His eyes were bloodshot. He coughed and looked to Hercules.

"Press on my friend. Save your strength for the wizard." Balder wheezed, "I'll—I'll try to help….Ioulus."

"Try and fail!" Medusa seethed, tossing Ioulus into the fallen god.

Hercules would have incinerated her there, but knew Balder's words were right. He needed to save his strength for….

"SARUMON!" Hercules shouted, seeing the wizard was gone from the room.

Hercules took flight, finding that behind the throne there was a doorway. He ran through it after Sarumon.

Medusa, for her credit, was thrashing both Ioulus and Balder soundly. Ioulus held his eyes closed tight, as Balder, weakened by mistletoe, lay on the ground coughing weakly.

"Well, now that everyone else is gone, I suppose my hood is no longer necessary." She hissed.

Balder hazarded a look, and wished he hadn't. Her face was green with scale, snakes flowing off her head hissing in places hair should have grown. And her eyes, her eyes glowed with such frightening brightness.

"What do we do, Balder?" Ioulus asked.

No reply.

"Balder?" Ioulus asked, feeling for his friend and finding only stone.

"Even the gods fear my gaze, manling, and rightfully so." Medusa cackled.

Ioulus opened his eyes for only a second and saw the pain filled visage of Balder was now a stone statue on the floor. He clamped them shut an instant later, and that was smart. Medusa had shot her head between Balder and the human, hoping to catch his gaze in the brief instant his eyes were open.

"Oh manling, you and I are going to have so much fun." She hissed, a serpentine tongue flicking out over Ioulus's face.

* * *

Hercules caught sight of the white wizard shortly after he had left the throne room. Sarumon shot bolts of lightning at the man-god as he gave chase. Hercules took them in stride, his drive and will much greater than his power at the moment. Sarumon laughed and took flight again. Hercules pursued. Soon, they neared a door. Hercules let loose with all his strength and godly power and flew through the air, tackling Sarumon through the thick wood.

They both crashed to the hard, stone ground, but it was Sarumon who recovered first. He sneered and sent telekinetic force out, sending Hercules flying into the air. The god of man easily countered, flipping and landing atop the fortress, showering down bolts of lightning. Sarumon however, managed to shield himself with a field of energy.

"You have youth and power on your side, godling, but I have age and experience." Sarumon chuckled, "And that will be your downfall every time."

"I guess that's why Hera, Echidna, and Dahak defeated me. Wait…they didn't." Hercules growled.

Sarumon smiled and pointed his staff at Hercules. Hercules prepared for the bolt of energy, but it never came. Instead he was merely held fast in the air. He grunted but found he could not move.

"This won't hold me for long." He said, gathering up the last of his divine energy reserves.

"It doesn't have to. You killed Zenobia. She was a wonderful pet of mine. Luckily though, I have others."

Hercules pondered the wizard's words, but then he heard something that dwarfed them. Something down, below the fortress walls. Something big. He nearly swallowed when he saw the immense something rise above the walls, standing on hind legs. Then he felt a blast of fire hotter than any other he'd ever been subject to. He fell to the top of the fortress, free of Sarumon's spell. Gathering his strength, he looked up at massive jaws coming down.

And then he was swallowed.

* * *

"Open your eyes, my pretty." Medusa said as she backhanded Ioulus with all her serpentine power.

"Ugh…no." the hero said, bleeding from her strikes.

She had been batting him about for minutes now, like a cat with a mouse. With an almost inhuman amount of willpower, Ioulus kept his eyes shut. He knew that soon she would grow bored from beating him and just kill him. She wanted a statue, but she didn't like being bored either.

She struck out again with great strength. Ioulus was ready this time. Having trained in the East, he knew a good deal about the martial arts. He had trained with his eyes closed before, and learned to feel the air for his opponents strike, to smell their breath as they approached.

He gripped her arm as she attacked, and raising his elbow, snapped it. Medusa screamed in pain. Using her enormous tail she batted Ioulus away.

"You bastard! I'll tear your eyes from your head for that!" she howled in agony.

"Great." Ioulus muttered in pain.

Suddenly, the room was showered in light. Ioulus saw it even with his eyes closed. He saw the outline of the bones in his hand, so great was the explosion of light. He heard Medusa scream in agony. He also heard coughing.

"Balder?" Ioulus asked.

"Ohhh…yes my friend, I am back." The Norse god of light answered, "It would appear that the gaze of a Gorgon is slightly less effective against a god. Also…the pain of the mistletoe…it's gone. The transmutation must have affected it somehow."

"AAAAAAAAAAAH! YOU BASTARDS! I'M BLIND! MY GAZE IS USELESS NOW! YOU'VE BLINDED ME!

Ioulus opened his eyes.

"All I needed to hear." He said, rolling for his sword and gripping it.

A quick movement later and Medusa's head hit the marble floor.

"You disposed of her quickly enough." Balder said, Ioulus helping him up.

"Probably wouldn't have without you. Ugh, I had my eyes closed when you did that light show and I'm still seeing stars." Ioulus replied.

"That is unfortunate." Balder added.

"Why's that?"

"My powers are returning slowly and you are blinded. I doubt we will stand much chance against those Orcs coming this way." Balder noted.

"Orcs?" Ioulus asked.

Though his sight was wounded, he could still make out the shapes of dozens of figures pouring into the throne room's open doors.

"Zeus on Olympus! How many of these guys does Sarumon have?!"

"Prepare for final battle my friend." Balder said, summoning up as much power as he could from his limbs.

Ioulus took a ready stance.

"Been nice knowing you." Ioulus said, "Let's send these guys straight to Tartarus."

"Even I may die in my weakened state, but many of them will know the embrace of Hela!" Balder shouted.

The Orcs charged them….

……and scattered right past as soon as they entered the throne room.

"Huh?" Ioulus paused, "What the-"

Twin roars got Ioulus's ears.

His gaze shot down the hall as he saw two huge…creatures thundering towards them at amazing speeds belying their bulk.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire, I swear to Zeus." Ioulus said, still holding ready.

Balder smiled.

"There is no reason to worry Ioulus, we are among friends who know their true enemy by instinct." The god smiled.

The two behemoths stopped their charge as soon as they entered the throne room.

"Hey guys, miss me?"

Ioulus blinked.

"For big monsters, they sure have high pitched voices." Ioulus reasoned.

"Check your vision, short stuff." Buffy said, leaping off the back of the albino ape.

"Hey! I'm as tall as you are!" Ioulus defended once he saw Buffy more clearly.

"Yeah and I admit I'm short." Buffy smirked, "Like my rides?"

Balder smirked and approached the black ape.

"It is good to meet you too, Joe." He said.

"Joe? You named him Joe?" Buffy asked.

"It's his name. We gods can speak to beasts." Balder said, petting the huge ape, "He was taken from one of the worlds Dahak ravaged and put with this one and its father."

"Huh. Thought they were brothers." Buffy said, studying the huge black and white apes.

"No. Joe is an adult. This other one is still but a child." Balder smiled, "He has no name as is the law of the wilds."

"Uh…yeah." Buffy said, "So where's Hercules?"

"Pursuing the wizard." Ioulus said, "Though I have no idea where."

"He went to the back of the fortress." Balder added.

"Huh. That's where Whitey's dad took off to. Just sniffed around and started climbing the fortress once we got here." Buffy said.

Joe grunted.

"I see." Balder nodded, "Joe says that they smelled something as they approached. Something they didn't like."

The great white ape mewled.

"He's afraid." Balder noted, "Something bad is here."

Joe looked up immediately and howled in fear. Grabbing the younger, but equally large ape, he pulled him towards the door and ushered for the others to likewise come.

"What's got them so—"

A great crashing came from overhead as a giant reptilian paw slammed through the ceiling, just barely missing the trio.

"—spooked?" Buffy gulped.

The titanic paw recoiled and they got a clear view of the thing that had smashed through the roof. Huge, like a lizard or dinosaur, with a long snout and scales that seemed smooth and gray; a great slitted yellow eye looking down on them. An eerily familiar roar greeted Buffy's ears.

"Oh my God….its the giant lizard Matthew Broderick killed." Buffy said, as she broke off into a run, Ioulus and Balder behind her.

"Giant lizard?" Ioulus called.

"Yeah! It's from a movie! Some people called it Godzilla, but Xander gets pissed anytime we call it that! He says to call it anything other than Gino makes it an abomination in the sight of the Lord!" Buffy cried over her shoulder.

"A shame that Q did not send this warrior Matthew Broderick to help with this creature!" Balder shouted behind her.

"What's a movie?!" Ioulus screamed.

Buffy just rolled her eyes. Then it dawned upon her.

"Anybody else realize that thing's not chasing us?" she asked.

"Maybe Sarumon doesn't want to ruin his fortress?" Ioulus postulated.

Gino's roar sounded, followed by another equally loud roar.

"Or perhaps the white beast's father has engaged it?" Balder proposed.

"Holy crap! He's big but that thing's A LOT bigger! He'll be killed!" Buffy shouted.

* * *

Atop the fortress, a battle of David and Goliath proportions was beginning. Kong was a huge creature to be sure, but the dragon before him dwarfed him in size. It was like a small cat deciding to do battle with a hulking man. Gino roared shaking the fortress, for a moment Kong felt a twinge of fear. But that was only for a moment.

Was he not the lord of Skull Island? Did he not fight and slay creatures like this to secure his sovereignty? Was he not Kong, worshipped as a god?!

The huge ape snarled and leapt through the air at the much larger foe.

He was casually batted aside, crashing to the top of the stone fortress, nearly making the roof collapse. Kong sat up, dazed. His eyes glanced up and he shot to the side. Gino's immense paws then slammed into the top of the fortress, collapsing half the structure. Kong leapt from the roof as soon as it came down. His strength was nothing to the monstrous size of his foe. Still, he was more than brute power!

He hurled a good sized boulder, striking the dragon in the head. It roared in annoyance, staring down at the ape-god with hatred.

"He nearly struck me." Sarumon said, atop the monster's head, anchored by a spell, "Burn him."

Gino roared and started to inhale. The wind picked up about Kong and grew warm. A creature of intellect like Kong realized something was amiss. His great reflexes caught first sight of the blaze appearing in the dragon's mouth. A moment later, there was only an inferno.

Sarumon smiled down at the blaze below his thunderous mount. He tapped his staff to its head.

"Excellent my friend, but now we must dispose of the others." The sorcerer smiled.

Gino turned its massive head towards the other side of the fortress and peered down. There was the annoying girl with, the other god, a man, and two apes. Gino roared angrily and proceeded to inhale again.

"Ah crap." Buffy swallowed.

The flames were reaching their zenith and were about to sweep out and raze the land again.

Suddenly, one side of the fortress's wall shattered and a singed Kong tackled the ankle of the giant. Gino was thrown off balance by this tactic and its flames missed their intended targets totally. Kong on the other hand, gripped hard to Gino's leg and bit into the tough flesh, grinding and gnashing with each bite. Gino howled in pain and arched its head down to see what fool would dare attack it.

Kong clung to its leg with one hand and thundered the other against his chest, roaring in defiance. Gino growled and inhaled again. Kong waited. He was ready. Fires erupted out once more, barreling towards Kong. The great ape then leapt away from the leg and gripped part of the fortress, climbing atop it. The flame struck Gino's own leg, and more importantly, his own wound.

The giant screeched in pain, flailing its head back and forth as Kong scampered across the remaining roof of the fortress. Sarumon steadied his mount and gave it direction again. Its slit eyes locked onto Kong and suddenly the giant lizard seemed to fly into the air.

Kong leapt from the fortress and continued running, only for the massive monster to thunder down in front of him and turn its bulk to face him. Kong stopped dead in his tracks.

Almost with a chuckle, Gino's tail lashed out and sent Kong crashing into the fortress. Gino then roared in triumph.

"Oh God, its going to kill him." Buffy said.

"Balder, we need to get some Valkyries here now!" Ioulus yelled.

"I am sorry. My strength has not returned enough to summon them. Nor do I think we would receive help as they are dealing with the city below." Balder swallowed, turning to the other apes, "I am sorry, more than you will ever know."

Kong shrugged and pushed rubble off of him. He was battered, bleeding, and in more pain than he had ever been in, but he would not relent. The great forepaw of Gino pushing down on him however, pinned him. The massive monster dwarfed Kong totally and seemed to smile in delight as it gazed upon the ape. Sarumon, atop the creature's head also smiled wickedly.

"So unreliable. You would have done well to behave more like my other pets and left your feeble "dignity" behind. Now, you pay for your insubordination." Sarumon reprimanded, "Kill him."

Gino's jaws opened wide for the kill.

And closed as the great dragon rose back into the air in pain.

"STAY THY HAND VILLAIN!" a voice thundered, accompanied by actual thunder, "I COMMAND THEE HALT!"

Gino's head turned to face the gnat that had struck it, a massive stone hammer returning to his hand and sparking lightning.

"This does not concern you, godling." Sarumon warned, "Best to slay giants in Athens below than to test my patience."

"Not my concern?" Thor asked, "Oh, but it is. I know I am not the wisest of gods, nor the gentlest, but Thor is ever the warrior and can respect any god, man, or beast who fights with all the resiliency his heart yields. You shall kill that beast when I go to the embrace of Hela and not before."

"You are a fool!" Sarumon said, sending a bolt of fire at the god of thunder.

Thor deflected it with his hammer.

"True, but heroes are often fools, and from such great stupidity, LEGENDS ARE BORN!" Thor said, firing lightning at the wizard.

Sarumon countered by blocking with his staff.

"It would seem we are evenly matched!" Sarumon laughed, as the last of the lightning arced off of his staff.

"Perhaps" Thor said throwing his hammer, "BUT THEN AGAIN PERHAPS NOT!"

Sarumon raised his staff just in the nick of time to block the attack.

Of course, it mattered little in the end. Thor's hammer Mjolnir split the staff in two, driving the shattered ends into the chest of the wizard while the hammer's strike sent the wizard from atop his perch, falling to the ground below.

Gino meanwhile snapped at the thunder god and caught him in his jaws. Thor however, refused to be eaten, gripping the top jaw with his hands and steadying his boots on the gums of the lower jaw. He strained and fought the giant lizard's powerful mouth in an ultimately, losing struggle.

"To me Mjolnir!" Thor shouted, his mystic hammer traveling to his side.

One hand shot out and gripped it as the other failed to hold the jaws open.

"Let us show this creature why Thor is no delicacy!" the thunder god bellowed.

Gino's jaws clamped shut and the creature seemed to smile.

That smile was cut short by lightning erupting from the monster's mouth in all angles. It screamed in pain, running, leaping and plowing itself into a nearby hillside. In its now open mouth, Thor stood screaming in rage as lightning burned it and made teeth explode.

* * *

"Wow." Buffy said.

"Yes, my brother for all his brutish ways, is indeed and valiant warrior." Balder smiled.

* * *

Thor flew from the mouth of the creature and lobbed Mjolnir at one of its eyes. The resulting explosion showered the countryside for miles around. Gino rose, half blinded, and thrashed back down to the ground. With one good eye, it watched Mjolnir again return to the hand of the thunder god. Gino rose again in anger and inhaled.

Thor swung his hammer, gathering the storm to him.

"Let us end this then." He smiled.

Gino prepared to let loose his flaming torrent, but again screamed, fire exiting its mouth as it fell back again upon the hill, writhing in agony and shredding the earth with its enormous spines.

Thor looked at the creature puzzled as it fell back before he struck. After a moment of screams and agony, the giant lay perfectly still; blood gushing from its mouth as the fire subsided.

"Od's Blood!" Thor said, landing on its massive chest, "What sorcery is this?"

A familiar glow of blue and yellow issued forth next to Thor.

"Not sorcery." Hercules said, materializing, covered in gore and blood, "Just me."

Thor turned to Hercules.

"Where did you come from?" Thor asked.

"In there." Hercules pointed at the monster, "It swallowed me. That was its mistake."

"Eh?" Thor asked.

"Well, that's not the first time I've been swallowed by an enormous monster. Not even the second. I just got my bearings, ripped through the tissues, and tried to squeeze its heart until it stopped beating. That was taking too long though. Of course by then, I felt electricity. I had to figure that was you, so I absorbed as much of it as I could and released it into its heart. Then I just teleported out. By Zeus, I'm drained." Hercules said, going to one knee.

Thor stared harshly at the Olympian for a moment before jerking him up and clasping him by the shoulder.

"For a lowly Olympian, by Odin, you have fortitude! Perhaps I'll let you take my place on the day of Ragnarok when I must face the Midgard Serpent!" Thor laughed.

"Sure." Hercules smiled before passing out.

Thor shook his mighty head.

"Clearly too much strain on the boy."

* * *

Sarumon coughed and sat up. He was in quite a lot of pain. Ribs broken, impaled by his own staff, and numerous wounds all over his body from the fall. But he would not relent. He gritted his teeth through his bloodstained beard and growled.

"It will….take…much more than….that….to dispose of the…Lord….of……Isen—Isengard!" he managed to grunt.

A loud roar caught his attention.

Sarumon was gripped in a massive hand and soon came face to face with the bloodstained visage of King Kong.

The great ape stared at the fallen sorcerer for a moment with rage.

Then bit down on Sarumon's neck and spit his head out of his mouth. He likewise threw the body away like a ragdoll. And he beat his chest, roaring for the entire world to hear.

"Ow. Little loud." Ioulus said, holding his ears.

"Loud, yes, but his words are beautiful." Balder smiled.

"His words? What's he saying?" Buffy inquired.

Balder turned and smiled to her.

"It would be hard to give the full meaning to a mortal, but to sum it up, he's saying that we are all free." The light god chuckled, "Our world is free."

* * *

Another world was not quite so lucky.

Fire and twisted metal rained down upon it. Behind a dormant volcano, Starscream and Spike hid from the onslaught.

"God….I swear, you get me out of this and I'll reform." Spike murmured, "I'm all for a good scrap, but this is way out of my league."

"We're going to die…we're going to die…oh Primus we're going to die. That's Unicron…the Chaos Bringer…the eternal foe of Primus." Starscream shivered, his enormous metal frame rattling as he did so.

"I reckon this guy's the devil then?" Spike looked up, visibly afraid.

"As close as human legends go. I thought he was just a myth but—" Starscream shivered.

An enormous scrap of twisted metal crashed to the ground in front of them. It was gigantic, dwarfing Starscream as easily as he dwarfed Spike. Starscream's ocular sensors showed almost immediate recognition.

"Bruticus."

The enormous gestalt was half melted and missing a leg. Half its head was gone. Its melted visor turned at looked to its creator Starscream.

"Bruticus—"it wheezed,"—imminent destruction…assured."

Then the enormous head of the robot merely snapped off, as if under strain just looking at Starscream.

"He was the mightiest warrior the Decepticons had." Starscream gasped.

"What say we make ourselves scarce?" Spike asked.

"Agreed." Starscream said, preparing to transform.

His insignia lit up.

"Starscream! Starscream! We need you!" Soundwave's normally monotone voice came across in waves of panic.

Starscream ignored it and transformed. Spike leapt into his open cockpit.

"Starscream! For the love of Primus, help us!" Soundwave kept shouting through the linkup.

Starscream froze and would have broke into a sweat were he capable.

"Devastator has been crushed underfoot! Menasor and Defensor were obliterated! Superion is barely functioning! Omega Supreme was the first casualty! For the love of Primus, Starscream we need you!!!" Soundwave yelled, frightened to the core.

"I—I---can't." Starscream replied, "It's just too much, Soundwave! Too much!"

"STARSCREAM I'M BEGGING YOU! MY CHILDREN, YOUR BROTHERS, WE NEED YOU HERE!" Soundwave's frantic begging came through.

Through the linkup, Spike could hear the screams. Without it he could hear the explosions. Looking back over his shoulder, the enormity of Unicron was clearly visible even over the volcano that housed the Autobot base. Beams of light shot from the monster's eyes, as fire erupted from its mouth destroying so much.

"We're down to a few Starscream! Please!" Soundwave begged.

Spike vamped out.

"Let's go." He said, "Let's go fight that thing."

"WHAT?!" Starscream shouted, "Are you insane?!!"

"A bit. I may be an evil bastard, but if it were me and mine out there…if it was Dru…or…or Buffy…I'd go even if I knew I was going to die."

"We're no match for Unicron!"

"Something I know all too well, but if I'm going out, I'm going out fightin' to the last." Spike said, lighting his last cigarette.

"You're insane!"

"This we've established."

"H-hey, can I get a word in?"

Spike and Starscream both froze.

"Who in the universe—"

"Glinda?" Spike asked.

"Uhh, yeah. Hi." Tara's voice seemingly came from nowhere and everywhere.

"What are you doing here?" Spike asked.

"Got my part of the weapon. It's also our transportation." Tara replied, and Spike could swear she was smiling a little, "Need some help?"

"Yeah, not that a spell will do a lot right now." Spike said.

"Well, I made some friends while I was getting my part. We can help." Tara replied.

"Give it all you got girl, but I don't know who in the hell could ever stand up to that thing."

* * *

A huge purplish doorway appeared in the sky, and a ship that seemed to be miles wide in diameter appeared above Unicron.

Onboard, a motley crew stood by Tara.

"He says we probably don't have a chance." Tara said to one of her newfound friends.

A smile came over his lips as he tightened his black leather gloves.

"Your friend's never met the Authority." Midnighter smirked.


	15. The Authority vs Unicron

"SUCH A SMALL THING. YOU ARE NOTHING." Unicron bellowed as it looked to the small form impaled at the very tip of his claw.

The small Transformer grunted in pain and gripped the tip of the claw, pulling himself up.

"No…not…nothing." It spat weakly.

"OH? THEN WHAT ARE YOU?" Unicron bellowed amusedly.

The blue visor of the Autobot glared at Unicron defiantly.

"Me? Me…Grimlock…BADASS!" Grimlock said, wrenching himself from the claw and leaping at Unicron's face.

Grimlock slammed into it….and fell towards the ground having done nothing to injure the massive Chaos Bringer.

"Me…Grimlock…think plan not work as expected." Grimlock coughed as he fell for what seemed like eternity. Even this great warrior could not survive the fall coupled with his injuries.

He stopped halfway down.

"Er?" Grimlock asked puzzled.

"I have you big guy. Just take it easy." A voice came from nowhere.

"Who say that?" Grimlock asked.

"Name's Apollo." The human sized hero who had caught Grimlock said, "Just take it easy, because reinforcements are here."

* * *

Massive bursts of energy fired forth and struck Unicron in the chest. The massive beast actually took a step back. Then he glared at the equally massive Carrier wafting hundreds of meters in front of him. As the smoke cleared from his chest wounds, Unicron's green eyes unleashed bursts of energy. They ripped into the Carrier, shearing off a section.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Jack Hawksmoor said as the Carrier was rocked, "What's he packing?"

"More energy than we have." The feminine Engineer replied as the Carrier shook, "This guys a monster. Doctor?"

"I'm working on it but…uh…don't know how to tell you this." The Doctor said.

"Just tell me!" The Engineer shouted.

"This guy…whatever he's made of…whatever's powering him…well he's resisting my transmutation. Don't ask me how, but I tried turning him into a giant douche, but no dice." The Doctor laughed nervously.

"Great. I guess I'll just have to fly out there and ram the guy with my body." The winged Swift sighed as she held Jenny Quantum, "And it's too hot a body to ruin."

"Fire again." Midnighter said, "Fire at his head."

"W-was that those…computations that run through your head telling you that?" Tara asked nervously.

"Nope. Just common sense." Midnighter grinned.

More beams fired at Unicron. The Chaos god actually roared in pain as the beams struck his face.

"Yeah! Told you!" Midnighter replied.

"Yeah, now we pissed him off." Jack said.

Sure enough, Unicron's green eyes glared at the Carrier.

Beams of green in addition to purple fire from his mouth rained against the Carrier. The massive Shift Ship was rocked much harder this time.

"Shit! She can't handle much more of this!" Jack shouted.

"I'll handle the repairs." The Engineer said, creating several nano clones of herself, "You send him back to hell."

"Yeah but how?" Swift asked.

"I got an idea." The Doctor said.

Unicron's massive body shot up into the air, falling upwards.

"Just reverse the flow of gravity." The Doctor smiled.

Unicron's ascent halted.

"Uh…" the Doctor stammered.

Unicron struck out, a mile long arm ripping into the Carrier.

"Anymore bright ideas dumbass?!" Midnighter asked as he grabbed Tara, keeping the witch from falling and injuring herself from the attack.

Unicron growled and recoiled his massive arm. He was preparing to tear the massive ship in half.

"Hey guys!" Apollo said through his radio-telepathic linkup, "Remember that phrase I always wear thin?"

The combined Authority and even Midnighter and Apollo's adopted daughter Jenny Quantum groaned.

"Daddy Apollo acts retarded sometimes."

"What phrase is he talking about?" Tara asked.

Apollo slammed into the back of Unicron's head going at speeds almost faster than Midnighter could calculate. The immense Chaos god seemed to lurch forward a little, at least long enough for the Carrier to move out of his range.

"Like a speeding bullet. I swear I love the guy but he's such a cornball sometimes." Midnighter said, palming his masked face.

"Ow." Apollo said, ricocheting off of Unicron's head, "Uh guys? I think I broke almost every bone in my body. Little help?"

"Door." Midnighter said, watching as Apollo fell through a small dimensional door and right into his arms.

"So, how'd I do? I kill him?" Apollo asked.

"Nope. I think you just made him mad." Midnighter said, watching Unicron turn and fire beams of energy at the Carrier.

"Bummer." Apollo replied.

"Uh…w-what now?" Tara asked.

"I've got something. Door." Jack Hawksmoor said, leaping through another dimensional doorway.

"Where's he off to?" Swift asked.

"He probably felt a city or something." The Doctor said lighting up a cigarette.

"Huh?" Tara asked.

"Jack was abducted by aliens years ago." The Engineer spoke up, or at least one of her nano clones did (Tara wasn't sure), "They altered him."

"He senses and controls city environments." Midnighter said, "He can speak to them. Don't ask me how. It's the most esoteric damned power I've ever heard of. I'm just glad I only kill things really well."

"I spotted a city down there. Pretty torn up." Apollo said, managing to stand even with his injuries, "Got any tricks up your sleeves in the meantime Doctor?"

"Maybe one." The Doctor said, inhaling his cigarette.

The dormant volcano of the Autobot base suddenly erupted and millions of tons of magma sprayed straight up into the air before forming a gigantic ball of liquid hot lava. The ball then heaved at Unicron and slammed into him. The giant barely seemed to notice.

"Hmm. That could have worked out better." The Doctor said, "Maybe I'll just make every atom in the air around him suddenly split and create an explosion that makes Hiroshima look like a queef."

"T-There's too many people down there…well robots." Tara said.

"Yeah. And? They're just robots." The Doctor replied.

"No. Atomic. Explosions." Midnighter ordered.

"Okay, but hey, the best solutions are usually the simplest ones." The Doctor said, reversing the flow of time around his cigarette until it was whole again.

* * *

"Well looks like your friends aren't doing so well." Starscream said as he rocketed through the air.

"Not my friends mate. They just showed up with a bird I know." Spike replied, "But you're right. Fat lot of good they did."

"I'm also wondering exactly what we're going to do." Starscream said.

"Well I think we could---SHIT!" Spike shouted.

"I don't think I can do that." Starscream said.

"That's not what I meant. Look!" Spike pointed.

Starscream looked (as well as a jet can I suppose) to see what all the ruckus was about.

"SHIT!" the Decepticon said.

* * *

"Let's hope this works." Jack Hawksmoor said as he melted into Autobot City, "How's things going?"

"Who is this?"

"Name's Jack. You'd be the city right?"

"Yes."

"Not feeling so hot huh?"

"Not particularly, no."

"So uh…Metroplex is it? How would you like to kick that big S.O.B.'s ass?"

"That would be good, but even in my transformed state I'm only about as big as his head."

"Yeah, well you're just a part of that city. Let me add to the thoughts and whispers that you're not privy to."

"Will this hurt?"

"Probably."

The earth rumbled. Metal twisted and groaned. A city shook and rose, becoming a massive warrior. Metroplex stood in the middle of it, the city wrapping itself around him like armor, adding to his already immense size. Bigger and bigger the titan grew until the entire city was about him; an urban knight, speaking with the voice and Jack Hawksmoor.

"Hey you big bastard. Let's go!" Jack shouted.

Unicron strode forth and looked down. Large as Jack/Metroplex/Autobot City was, he was still only about half Unicron's size. Purple fire belched at the Autobot Entity and clung to him. Unicron grimaced as the Entity came running out of the fire, fully ablaze, and ready to attack. Massive guns and armaments from the city exploded and fired. Massive metal fists clanged against Unicron's body, shattering. Unicron himself seemed unimpressed and merely brought a single hand down over the Entity's head, sending Metroplex crashing out through the bottom and onto the ground almost totally destroyed. Then the hulking remnants of his armor came tumbling down atop him.

"A NOBLE ATTEMPT, BUT ULTIMATELY FUTILE."

"Jack! Jack! You dead?!!" The Engineer shouted through the linkup.

"…Yeah. Wait…no. I'm alive. Door." Jack said, as he appeared back in the Carrier's control room, looking very haggard, "Never doing that again. Poor robot I was riding got annihilated."

"Notice how we're doing Jack, no pun intended, and shit against this thing?" the Doctor asked, "I say we turn tail and run."

"W-We can't do that!" Tara shouted.

"Well, what else are we going to do?" The Doctor asked.

"Ramming speed." Midnighter said.

Everyone looked to Midnighter with shocked expressions.

"Okay, anything else?" Tara asked.

* * *

Amidst the shattered carcasses and dying frames of the Autobots and Decepticons, a hand rose. Shoving off the bodies covering him violently. Red eyes glowed and peered out. Though he was injured, armor cracked, leaking Energon badly, Megatron was not about to be beaten…even by the Chaos Bringer.

And dragging behind him was the fallen body of Optimus Prime.

"You're an idiot Prime." Megatron said as he pulled the body of his sworn enemy free of the rubble, "You had to be right there on the front lines. Noble, but stupid. A good general only gets involved in skirmishes when he has no choice. But no…you had to be right there, carrying me along and firing at that monstrosity."

Megatron looked up to Unicron, who seemed to block out the night sky.

"Even when our gestalts exploded you were right there trying to fight. And all it got you was pain, being buried alive by our comrades in arms despite my warning to retreat. And in that you show me up again. I detest you." Megatron said, kicking the downed Autobot leader, "And by Primus you'll never show me up again. If you want to see how a real leader fights and dies then watch Prime, WATCH!"

Megatron shot into the sky, firing his fusion cannon behind him to increase his speed. Halfway to Unicron he turned the weapon onto his giant foe and fired again and again and again.

"You will die!" Megatron shouted.

"Ugh…Megatron…don't…he's too far gone." Prime said standing.

"ASSISTENCE REQUIRED." Omega Supreme's massive voice boomed even over the carnage.

Prime turned and saw the mightiest warrior either side had, torn in half, missing an arm and nearly slagged down to his infrastructure.

"Do you still function Omega?" Prime asked.

"FLEETINGLY." Omega replied, "DAMAGE TOO EXTENSIVE. TERMINATION IMMINENT. I FEEL…I FEEL AGAIN. I FEEL FEAR."

"Good soldier." Prime said touching what remained of Omega's arm.

Then an idea hit.

"Do you have anything left in your pitching arm?" Prime asked.

"POWER FAILING. CLARIFY INTENT."

"Throw me at him. Throw me right down his throat. Maybe once inside I can open the Matrix and end this." Prime said.

"QUERY…ACCEPTABLE."

Prime leapt into the massive three pronged hand of the larger Autobot and was launched into the air after Megatron, right at Unicron's face.

"Now we end this." Prime said as he flew along, rapidly gaining speed.

"ENERGY SOURCES DEPLETING….SHUTDOWN BEGINNING. TO FEEL. TO FEEL AGAIN AFTER SO LONG. TO FEEL PAIN. TO FEEL FEAR. TO FEEL…HOPE. FEELS GOO----"

* * *

"Eh?" Megatron said as something shot past him. He couldn't believe his optics.

"What?! What are you doing Prime?! What are you doing?! This is my moment! Mine! Mine!" The Decepticon leader shouted.

Prime couldn't hear what Megatron was screaming in the air behind him. He was too focused on Unicron. The leviathan grew larger and larger as Prime neared him. Touching his chest, Prime felt it open and the power of the Matrix grow within him. Unicron felt it too. The large green eyes left the Carrier and stared right at Prime.

"Damn you Prime! Damn you!" Megatron roared, firing his fusion cannon at his hated foe, "This is my moment! Mine!"

A bolt hit Prime making the Autobot commander scream in pain, and knocking him off course. That shot, while intending to kill Prime, saved his life. Beams of green energy just barely missed him and rocketed past his body. Megatron's own eyes lit up in fear.

"No." Megatron said right before a beam collided with him and lit his world up in blinding pain.

"So close…so close…" Prime muttered.

Then pain bit into his body again as he collided with something large and metallic. At first guess he thought it was Unicron. He went unconscious from the impact for a fleeting moment, only to be reawakened by a larger impact. Through the mangled body of the Carrier where he had landed, he saw the immense Unicron fall backwards onto the earth with the sound of a hydrogen bomb resonating for miles. Then Prime passed out again.

"Okay, we rammed him." The Doctor grimaced, "Lot of good that did."

"Holy shit!" Jenny Quantum shouted.

"Language baby doll." Apollo scolded.

"Hmmm…he's getting back up." Midnighter said, "Maybe my computations are off today."

"I'm going to kill you man. I swear." Swift said pushing debris off of her with her wings.

"Don't be silly Swift. The big robot's going to do that." Midnighter retorted.

"Um…I have an idea." Tara said.

"Make a really big joint and get him high?" the Doctor asked.

Everyone looked at him.

"Just throwing it out there." He shrugged.

"It better be good. I lost a few nano clones after that last attack." The Engineer spoke up.

"W-Well…you see---"

Everyone's eyes went wide.

* * *

"IS THIS THE BEST ANY OF YOU CAN DO? TO CHALLENGE UNICRON IS TO COURT DESTRUCTION ITSELF. WHEN YOU DIE AND GO TO THE VOID THAT AWAITS YOU PAST THIS LIFE, TELL THOSE THERE BEFORE YOU THAT UNICRON HAS DELIVERED YOU TO THE ABYSS!" Unicron shouted, "AND NOW, TO END THIS CHAR---"

Unicron froze in mid speech. His eyes became listless and his mouth contorted to a look of shock.

"WH-WHERE IS MY BODY?" Unicron said, as his head began the descent downward to the earth, producing a massive crater. For a moment, the Chaos Bringers eyes sparked with green shock and hatred before going dim.

* * *

Not long after…

"You what?!" Spike asked.

"W-Well, their ship here can open doorways between dimensions right? I figured maybe we open one underneath of him, move it up to his neck, then close it." Tara smiled.

"And you effectively decapitate the big blighter. Good work actually. Who'd think that you'd get so bloodthirsty in battle, pet?" Spike asked.

"Not so much bloodthirsty as inventive." Tara smiled.

"Well, call it what you will. Glad you hooked up with these fellas. Saved old Spike's skin you did." Spike said, smoking a cigarette he had bummed off the Doctor, "So this big thing is the weapon Q sent you for huh?"

"Y-Yeah, well not so much this as what powers it." Tara said.

"And what's that? Nuclear energy, electricity, Red Bull?"

"A baby universe."

"Come again?"

"This place's engine is a little universe, only like fifty feet tall. It's like magick Spike." Tara smiled.

"I spose so." Spike replied, "How'd you end up here?"

"Hmm?"

"How'd you end up here? In this universe." Spike asked.

"Oh. W-Well, I just sorta of zapped onto this Carrier about an hour ago and the Authority grilled me for a little bit until they scanned my mind and realized what I was saying was true. I guess Q knew what he was doing when he sent me to t-them. Angie, the Engineer, just downloaded everything in my head and put it into the computer. All that in-information had like a homing beacon in it. It sends us to where we need to go next. I'm not sure where we go from here, but the Carrier will get us there." Tara explained.

"An hour ago? That doesn't sit right. I've been here for hours and bloody hours." Spike said.

"Angie said that time flows differently in different universes. The w-way Q sent us, we may be in one place for only a few seconds or maybe even years. It worries me that Willow may be somewhere b-bad for years." Tara replied.

"Same for me and the Slayer." Spike mused.

"You uh…you really care about her don't you?" Tara said.

"Hate her guts. Yeah I spose that qualifies as caring." Spike replied.

"You can't lie to me Spike. I know you love her." Tara said.

That much was true. Spike did love her…so much in fact he wanted to beat the holy hell out of her the next time he saw her, then turn her into something like him now that the chip was gone. Yeah, that hit the spot. Hell, he would drain the witch right here if all these other gits weren't around. Drain her nice and slow.

Tara smiled at him.

Then again…maybe not. She was nice enough. Damn, life didn't used to be this confusing.

"So what happened to my piece of the weapon? He get destroyed by the monster?" Spike asked.

"Not the last I heard."

* * *

"Ugh. Where am I?" Optimus Prime asked as he sat up off the table.

"Whoa, hold on there." The Engineer said, hovering over next to him, "Take it easy big guy. Ratchet, get over here!"

"Ratchet?" Prime asked.

"Right here Prime." The medical Autobot said as he thundered over to Prime.

"Where am I?" Prime asked again.

"We're with the group that saved us. This is the Engineer. She's one of a Terran group called the Authority. Well, sort of." Ratchet sighed.

"Did we win?" Prime asked.

"Yeah we won. Unicron's dead." Ratchet smiled, before losing it, "We took heavy losses though."

"Report." Prime said, standing, the officer in him taking over.

"We lost too many Prime. The gestalts are all gone. Omega Supreme's dead. Trail-Breaker, Wheeljack, Mirage, Braun, Prowl, even Ironhide." Ratchet explained.

"We saved as many of you as we could." The Engineer said, "But we couldn't get everyone. A few passed away once they were onboard. My nanites are very compatible to your physiologies. I'm trying to get things right, but its hard."

Prime observed the room and saw multiple copies of the chrome woman trying to work on other Autobots…and Decepticons.

"Megatron?" Prime asked.

Ratchet shook his head.

"Couldn't find him. We're still looking for bodies. Anyone with scientific know how and who survived is up here working on the others." Ratchet explained.

"NO! YOU NOT TOUCH ME GRIMLOCK!"

"AAAAAK!"

Prime looked over to see a wounded Grimlock standing and holding Starscream off the ground one handed. The Decepticon looked to be in mortal fear as the large Dinobot's fingers locked around his neck.

"Grimlock, please." The Autobot Perceptor pleaded.

Grimlock backhanded him to howls of excitement from the other more badly damaged Dinobots.

"Grimlock, stop." The immense Skyfire said, grabbing Grimlock in a headlock.

Grimlock dropped Starscream and threw his head back into Skyfire's face, before flipping him over onto the ground.

"Me Grimlock say I no get touched by Decepticon scum!" Grimlock roared.

"Who you calling scum?" Blitzwing said, getting off his own table, "I'm a soldier and I'm not going to be run down by some idiot who's not even smart enough to read."

"You get run down by me Grimlock anytime me say." Grimlock said, shoving Blitzwing back over his table, "ANYONE TOUCH ME GRIMLOCK AND THERE HELL TO PAY!"

A hand grasped Grimlock's wrist.

"Stand down and get back on that operating table." Optimus Prime ordered.

Grimlock growled.

"I said STAND DOWN!" Prime shouted.

Grimlock stared at Optimus Prime before slowly lowering his head.

"Me Grimlock sorry Prime. Me Grimlock no mean to start trouble. Me Grimlock just no want Decepticons working on me or Dinobots." Grimlock said.

Prime's hand traveled to Grimlock's shoulder.

"Understandable Grimlock, but there aren't many of us left now. We have to all work together to save all our allies. You understand?" Prime asked.

"Yes Prime, Me Grimlock understand. You always explain things good." Grimlock said, "But me Grimlock no want Starscream around!"

"Ratchet, Ms. Engineer, if you would, please rotate someone else to Grimlock and the Dinobots. And maybe give Perceptor and Skyfire some room from them too until they calm down." Prime said.

"We'll do what we can." The Engineer replied.

"Understood, Prime." Ratchet said.

"As for you Starscream—" Prime said, narrowing his gaze, "Make yourself useful and patch me up. I want to keep an eye on you personally."

"How dare you insinuate that I—"

Prime bent down and looked right into Starscream's eyes.

"I'm not Megatron. I'm not going to play around with you and run you down, but as of now you and every Decepticon here are in my custody and until we have a trial for you I am reprimanding you all under my command. If you don't like that, you have permission to speak freely. Otherwise get busy with the repairs. Now, do I have to repeat myself?" Prime asked.

"Er…no." Starscream said, swallowing.

"Good." Prime replied.

"Actually Prime. There's something the rest of the Authority and I need to talk to you about." The Engineer said.

"Very well." Prime said.

"This way." the Engineer said, leading Prime out of the room.

"Starscream!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" the Decepticon sighed.

* * *

One hour later….

Optimus Prime walked back into the room and glanced around at the wounded and the medics. He hated having to make this announcement, but he realized he had to.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Prime said, grabbing everyone's attention, "The Authority have filled in the blanks on Unicron's presence here and what he said about this 'Dahak'. Dahak apparently is a being that is attempting to destroy the entire multiverse. That includes our own universe."

"That is something the dead creature informed us." Soundwave replied.

"And apparently helped instigate your attack on us, I know. Another young human woman has already smacked him in the back of the head for that. Regardless, the Creation Matrix which dwells within me is in need of use in this battle. I intend to then go with this group to help construct a weapon that the Matrix is only a small part of. As a result, I have decided that other Autobots and Decepticons will be needed in this struggle." Prime commanded.

"Oh no, here comes the rant about the draft." Rumble said, palming his face.

"What is required in this struggle is what will be required of any major conflict. Some of you have no choice but to come. Others will be able to volunteer." Prime said.

"I'm coming." The aged Kup said, spitting leaking Energon onto the floor, "You're gonna need my experience lad."

"It is well appreciated old timer. Anyone else?" Prime asked.

"Ah hell." Blitzwing sighed, "You're gonna need a soldier. I've been thinking about defecting anyway."

Several Decepticons leveled hard gazes at Blitzwing. Especially Soundwave.

"Don't get too angry Soundwave, because you're coming too." Prime replied, "In the event this radio-telepathy fails we need a communications man. Not to mention you can create Energon cubes to keep our health up."

Soundwave bored holes in Prime with his visor.

"As long as my children come too." Soundwave said, gesturing to Rumble and the other cassettes.

"Acceptable terms. They'll cover my reconnaissance needs. We'll need short range transportation too. Astro-Train, Skyfire, you're it." Prime added.

"I can double as your medical officer. I know enough to compensate." Skyfire nodded.

"Great. Really." Astro-Train sighed.

"Can I come?" Arcee, the only female Autobot in attendance asked, "I mean, I need the experience and I can help Skyfire with the maintenance if you need me to."

"Welcome aboard." Prime smiled under his mouth plate.

"I'd really like to come along as well Prime. No offense to Skyfire and Arcee, but I'm the best doctor we have." Ratchet said.

"No Ratchet, you're staying here to help the others." Prime replied.

"Alright. I thought I'd try anyway." Ratchet said.

"YOU BETTER BELIEVE ME GRIMLOCK AND THE DINOBOTS COMING!" Grimlock shouted, with the other Dinobots roaring in agreement.

"Well, I figured that as a given." Prime said, "Finally I'm going to need a second in command."

"You have it then." Ultra Magnus nodded.

"No old friend, you have to stay here. There's no one else I'd rather have at my side, but I know the Autobots will need a leader here as well. You fit the bill." Prime replied.

"Then who's your second going to be?" Magnus asked, confused.

Prime glanced back to a bored looking Starscream leaning in the doorway.

"You're kidding. Him?!" Magnus asked.

"What? What did I miss?" Starscream asked.

"I just volunteered you to be my second in command." Prime explained.

"Oh well I…WHAT?!!! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Starscream shouted, "I'm just going to get killed!"

"Heh heh heh." Grimlock chuckled and popped his knuckles.

"And if this Dahak doesn't kill me, Grimlock will!" Starscream shouted.

"Grimlock. No killing Starscream." Prime ordered.

"Awww."

"The same goes for you other Dinobots."

"Awwwww."

"And anyone else on this mission."

"AWWWWWWWWWW."

"I'm still not doing it! You're just doing this to keep an eye on me because you know I'm smart enough to get away from your Autobots when their backs are turned!" Starscream shouted.

"That, and the fact that I know you're smart enough to be a good officer when you're not being humiliated or trying to backstab everyone." Prime said.

"What?" Starscream asked softly.

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

"No…uh…sir. No sir." Starscream replied.

Did Optimus Prime of all Transformers just compliment him?

"Good. That's my party. Everyone else will be transmitted back down below. The injured will be sent to Los Angeles for repair. The fully repaired will aid in the recovery of other bodies with G.I. Joe below. Understood?" Prime asked.

Nods and shouts of approval.

"Good. Dismissed." Prime said, "G1 Company, you're with me."

"G1 company? Who that?" Sludge, the least bright of the Dinobots asked.

"That's us. That's our company." Blitzwing said.

"Ohhhhh."

* * *

Hours later still, the Carrier opened a door and disappeared through it.

On the ground, several Transformers looked up into the sky and sighed.

"I wish I could have gone." Hot Rod sighed.

"Then you should have volunteered." Ultra Magnus smiled and patted him on the back.

"I figured Prime would have picked me. He knows I have big things coming my way." Hot Rod smiled.

"There's a reason he didn't pick you." Thrust said, lifting some scrap metal as he looked for survivors.

"Why?" Hot Rod asked.

"Because you suck." Thrust laughed, eliciting laughter from Ramjet and even Dirge.

"That's enough Thrust." Ultra Magnus warned.

"Hey, kid's gotta find out he sucks sooner or later." Thrust laughed.

"Oh bite me." Hot Rod said.

"Kid, I'm gonna blow you aw—what was that?" Thrust asked.

"What?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"That!" Thrust shouted, pointing at the crater that Unicron's head had made.

Sure enough green energy was erupting from the crater. It rose higher and higher into the sky, before beams of it shot down and hit fallen Autobots and Decepticons. It seemed to be changing them.

"What in the universe?" Magnus asked himself.

"MEGATRON!" Thrust shouted in glee.

Standing beside the Unicron crater was a large Transformer silhouetted by the green light. It clearly had a massive fusion cannon on its right arm.

But it just stood there.

Thrust squinted.

"Megatron?" he asked, "Is that you?"

"Here's a hint." A gruff voice stated.

Strange energy fired from the arm cannon and struck Thrust, making him explode and scattering the other Transformers. Ultra Magnus hit the dirt hard. The smoke was still heavy from the battle and Thrust's explosion, but he distinctly heard loud footsteps coming his way.

The smoke finally cleared as the footsteps stopped. What was before him was Megatron, but it wasn't. He was purple, sleeker, his fusion cannon was golden not black. He stood and stared at the fallen Transformers.

"I've got you Megatron!" Hot Rod shouted, leaping at the newcomer.

"Hot Rod don't!" Magnus shouted.

Hot Rod was batted away like nothing by the newcomer.

"The name isn't Megatron anymore, whelp." The newcomer growled, "Its Galvatron!"

A massive energy blast from the cannon tore Hot Rod apart with a single blast.

"No!" Magnus shouted, rising and charging Galvatron.

Galvatron turned and had Ultra Magnus point blank. He smiled.

"Such heroic nonsense."

Then he fired.

And Magnus fell.

Never to rise again.


End file.
